There has been one particular area in my garden that has bugged me for quite some time now. It is a highly visible spot that receives a lot of sun year round and is occupied by some of my favorite plants. Lately, in an effort to further meet the water restrictions the drought in California has imposed,…
I love growing tropical hibiscus. The many challenges that come from the endeavor are certainly subdued once you witness them in flower. The beautiful blooms attract attention from a great distance in the garden and some flowers have such unique colors and patterns that you’d think only an artist could come up with them. Currently my two favorite…
This past Saturday the Palm Society of Southern California (PSSC) held their quarterly meeting . This May meeting included two wonderful gardens tours in the Mission Viejo area. While I have been a member of the PSSC for many years now, I am usually unable to attend these meetings, as something kid-related always seems to take up my calendar. Lucky…
Back in April of last year I wrote a post about a custom potting soil mix that I have been using for about seven years now. I was even so bold as to call it the “perfect” mix. Of course you can’t make those types of claims without some proof, right? So in that post last year…
It is not very often that we get cloudy days like most have been this week. In fact, statistically there are 258 sunny days per year in Vista, California, where I live. Thirty-five days per year are what they call precipitation days. These infrequent cloudy days can prove beneficial, as it is the best time to photograph boutique agaves…
I am no fan of bulbs. They just don’t make much sense to me in a Southern California garden. I did have a bed of various Iris once. One winter a guy touring my yard noticed this large bare spot and asked what I was going to plant there. What? I had like 20 Iris planted there. Then it dawned on me. I…
Spring time in my garden is when I like to make the major changes. Spring is also when I find myself planting 90% of everything I will put into the ground that year. However, before any plantings, time must be dedicated to ripping plants out. We all know that life isn’t fair, and tough choices have to made when building…
Last week spring break was in full effect, and with that came the challenge of keeping the kids busy. But let’s be honest, I live in San Diego, so it really isn’t that much of a challenge. Plus our yearly memberships to Legoland, Sea World and the San Diego Zoo certainly come in handy here….