If you don't live here, California drought is just a headline, a TV news story, someone else's problem. But here in California, it's serious stuff, being called "unprecedented." Lifestyles must change. We're facing a 30 percent mandatory cut in our water use (over the average use in our city) to . . .
Are you excited about spring yet? Yeah, I know. If you live in some parts of the country you can't get excited just yet. But hey, like death and taxes, spring does come. Eventually. It just came sooner here. Which means it's time to garden. Well, I don't really garden. I'm good at killing plants, . . .
Spring. It's sprung, at least this week and at least in the San Francisco Bay area and on the Monterey peninsula. And in Sonoma. Here's what I found on my street: Down in Big Sur, the succulents are plump and green: Some are even flowering: Flowers in the wooden box at the Big Sur River . . .
Photo credit* Be gentle, kind and patient with yourself. Now that's something I need to do more of,because I'm pretty good at recognizing my own failings.Even if I don't acknowledge them out loud. Louise Hay uses a beautiful and fitting garden analogy to teach us patienceand the value of . . .
Rose Garden, San Jose, 2011 Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again. ~Sarah Ban Breathnach The morning air is chilly now when I let the dogs out, reminding me that autumn is just a few weeks away. When it . . .
Ever felt this way? Yeah, I thought so. Me, too. . . .
Spring flowers make me happy. I've always thought that depression treatment should include some sort of flower therapy. And I don't mean just smelling them. That top row of bougainvilleas I saw in a nursery just scream "California spring". I've got plenty in my yard and I hope it won't be too . . .
We made a false start at landscaping last spring, our first spring after we bought this house in Fall 2010. Maybe we didn't have a clear vision or maybe we picked the wrong guy to work with, because we abandoned the job before it began.But when we were in Morocco in March, our vision was clear: we . . .
We got to the garden supply store a bit earlier than our landscaper the other day and had plenty of time to peruse the place. We were astonished at the broad range of atrocious decorative items available to those with terrible taste. Here, take a look with us: This sinister squirrel with . . .
Our landscaper took us to the garden center to choose some flowers for the new courtyard. We'll be going back for more, but here's a look at some of our first favorites. This is a single bloom that's purple bursting out of hot pink. Love this big orange flower. Lined up and . . .
