A Rustic Home

Recently, all the fires raging all around California have left a layer of dust on our plants.  Which reminds us, we all need baths including our plants.

Remember that your plants breathe through their leaves. With so much smoke in the air (and, of course, no rain for months) your garden might need a good washing.  Even if you don't live in the area, look at your house plants - are the leaves covered in dust?  They good use a bath.  Gently, wipe the leave with a wet towel to remove the grime.

And when watering the garden, it is best done in the morning.  This gives the plants a chance to drink before the water evaporates in the middady heat.  Watering late at night isn't usually a good idea since the water will take longer to evaporate, risking diseases from excess moisture.

Happy Gardening! 

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Are you looking for a source for a special plant? Are you looking for an expert gardening Web site for information on growing plants in your area?

Want to learn  more?

• Plant Finder
• Weed Library
• Gardening Articles
  • Flowers
    • Annuals
    • Bulbs
    • Perennials
    • Roses
  • Edibles
    • Small Fruits & Berries
    • Herbs
    • Fruit & Nut Trees
    • Vegetables
  • Landscaping
    • Container Gardening & Ponds
    • Lawns, Ground Cover, & Wildflowers
    • Yard & Garden Planning
    • Trees, Shrubs, & Vines
  • Garden Care
    • Pests & Problems
    • Soil, Water, & Fertilizer
    • Plant Care Techniques
    • Tools & Equipment
    • Seeds & Propagation

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When I can find a quiet, free moment - I like to slip away to my favorite leather chair and browse these guides.  My first love is the garden, so Sunset has been an inspiration to many a weekend project.  Secondly, well I do love to eat.  I not exactly the watercress type - so give me a good steak, corn on the cob and mom’s potato salad and I am a happy camper.  Finally, whenever I can - it’s off to explore brave, new worlds.

• Lonely Planet Travel Guides – I never leave home without one.  A much worn copy accompanied me to China providing great back stories to my many travels.

• Sunset Western Garden Book – The ultimate garden reference book.   What plants to grow, how to nurture them and what seems to be eating them.  For more than 70 years, Sunset has been the source for no-nonsense gardening advice, easy-to-follow diagrams, and encyclopedic knowledge of plant varieties.

• Weber’s Art of the Grill – Does anything say rustic living more than a great outdoor feast.  America's preeminent grill maker offers tips, techniques and 100+ stylish, really varied recipes for contemporary outdoor entertaining. America's preeminent grill maker offers tips, techniques and 100+ stylish, really varied recipes for contemporary outdoor entertaining.

I hope you enjoy these resources, as much as I do. 

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My escape has always been go hug a tree.  But sometimes getting away isn’t so easy.  Load up the truck, corral the dogs, prod Husband off the couch – you get the point.  So, I brought nature to me.  I started gardening.  It started off easy enough - a houseplant here, a few herbs over the sink – and soon I’m rototilling the back forty.  Well, we live in SF, so it’s more like the back 15x12 – but I digress.

Gardening is simple, if you remember a few basics –

·        “I’m thirsty!” – Well, I heard you can over water, but I’ve yet to see it.  The trick is to insure that your plants aren’t in standing water.  When you are potting a plant, line the bottom with pebbles to insure there is plenty of drainage. 

·        “No critters!!” – Even the most diligent green thumb battles bugs.  Fight nature with nature – Marigolds give off a smell that aphids don’t like, so plant them around your rose bushes.  Garlic does, too!

·        “One woman’s garbage” – is another woman’s compost.  There are many good resources on how to compost, check them out.  After a few months, your trash transforms to nutrient rich supplement for your garden.

·        “Worms poop, and that’s a good thing” – Worm poop (castings) provide wonderful nutrition for your plants; drop a few in your compost heap.  In their travels, they also help aerate the soil.

·        Be Nice to the Little Ole Ladies  - There IS a garden club in your area. In it there are little old ladies and lanky old men--and an occasional gardening stud--who, if you are nice and bring a covered dish to their meeting--will clue you into EVERYTHING you will ever need to know about growing things in your microclimate.  And if your dish is tasty, they just might supply you with bulbs and cuttings from their imposing yards and all the tips you need to eventually out-green them.

And remember – If you’ve been inside all winter, wear sunscreen.  The April sun can be harsh.  If you’re like me you’ll lose track of time, as you daydream about becoming the next Martha Stewart – so lather up!

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Never in a million years would I have predicted that I would be getting up at the crack of dawn to go worm shopping.  Yes, worm shopping, and no I don’t fish.

A never ending list of domestic chores - I have become the housekeeper, the cook, and now the gardener.  Of all my domestic duties, I actually like the garden.  It doesn’t hurt that in San Francisco everything grows regardless of my lack of a green thumb. 

So, I have launched 400 or so of my new friends off to work. 

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Need a little green right about now?  How about a repotting party?  A little get together with your fellow garden enthusiasts.    The party is a chance to learn about and receive new plants with some personal history.

This is also a great opportunity to encourage your little gardeners.  They can leave with their very own plant and their first taste of the earth.  Some easy to grow plants include Spider Plants, Devil's Ivy or Pothos and most succulents like Aloe.

Some signs that your plants needs to be repotted are wilting between watering, lower leaves are yellow, roots appear at the soils surface or grow thru the drainage holes.  Early spring, just as new growth begins, is an ideal time to repot, but a plant that needs repotting should be done anytime of the year, except when actively flowering. 

Many plants in our garden started out as either cuttings or samples from a family member of friend.  There are Mom’s roses along the back fence; a jasmine from a college roommate climbs the arbor and plum tree shades the deck is left over from the previous owner.  Each invokes the memory of the giver.

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If you live in a cold climate, then January is a tough month.  Your yard is either buried in snow or just a bleak minmalist landscape.  And spring seems so far away.

Need a little pick me up? Check local garden centers and newspapers for info on your regional flower shows. Most are held in midwinter. Flower shows help chase away the winter doldrums and provide inspiration.

And if you brave enough to venture out -

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During the winter, I like to scale back the maintenance of the garden.  I live in California with year round growth and maintenance.  But many of the fruit trees have gone bare, and I don’t do any planting from November through March.  I’ve pruned the roses, so pretty much its weed control and dreaming of warmer days.

It is also the time when I can plan for the next growing season.  Out come the gardening books, the seed catalogs and old Sunset magazines.  It’s the time to dream.  And with numerous online garden design programs the process has never been easier.

The National Gardening Association recommends GrowVeg.com.

"One of the latest is geared towards vegetable gardeners.  GrowVeg.com is an England-based garden design tool that helps you plan your vegetable and fruit gardens. Using animated vegetables and fruits, the program helps you map out your garden and select, place, and rotate crops. Vegetables are color-coded by family, making it easier to plan crop rotation. The program can even remember past designs and warn you about planting the same family of vegetables in the same spot two years in a row."

How cool is that?

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