Gardening
Organic Matter
The Color of Any Matter Is a Key to Its Use in the Garden
Some refuse can go directly into the garden to cycle back into essential nutrients right in place, bypassing the layering and turning of the compost bin. Read story.
Seed Time
Catalogs Hit Mailboxes This Month
The mailbox may still be spewing bills from the holiday spending spree, but this month it also holds colorful and tempting seed catalogs. Read story.
Healthy Soil
Use Organic Matter to Enhance Soil
The most important way to help to enhance this soil food web is to add organic matter; feed the soil, and the soil will feed the plant. Read story.
Tuberose
Intoxicating Flower Has Been Cultivated for Centuries
A mix of gardenia and vanilla with undertones of rose, the scent is neither subtle nor faint. Read story.
S.B. Big Trees
The Moreton Bay Fig Tree was Planted from a Cutting from Australia
The largest and most imposing tree still gracing our cityscape is the Moreton Bay fig tree. Read story.
Gardener Gifts
Boots, Gloves, and Other Gardening Garb
Gifts for the gardener might just be comfortable and functional clothing and accessories to make a happy gardening experience. Read story.
Winter Succulents
Aloes are Blooming
Thousands of fleshy spires are emerging from their green rosettes of leaves and soon the millions of tubular flowers that they support will begin to color and open. Read story.
Twigs
Bare Twigs Make for Lovely Arrangements
Bare twigs can be quite architectural in their own right. Read story.
After Dark
Illuminating Your Garden
Outdoor lighting can be dramatic with spotlights drenching architectural trees from below or floodlights bathing a pool in perpetual moonlight. Read story.
Fall Flora
What the Season Brings
One harbinger of late summer and fall is the “chicken of the woods” that without fanfare appears at the base of (in our area, mainly) eucalyptus trees. Read story.
Garden Reads
New Tomes on Harvesting Rain and Eating Loca
Two new tomes discuss harvesting rain and eating locally grown foods. Read story.
New Roots
Propagating Plants with Stem Cuttings
Probably the best-known method of propagating plants is by taking stem cuttings. Read story.
What's in a Name?
Pink-Flowering Floss Silk Tree
C. speciosa is planted along the last block of Santa Barbara Street (above Pedregosa), and the repetitive rank of swollen, thorny trunks has a truly prehistoric aspect. Read story.
Urban Timber
Cal Poly Professor's New Book Identifies Trees in the Neighborhood
A Californian’s Guide to the Trees Among Us is a handy guide to identify the trees in the neighborhood and a trusty source to inform which tree species to plant for a particular spot. Read story.
Regional Food
The SOL Food Festival Brings Together Area Farmers, Vendors, and Educators
The SOL Food Festival will bring together a host of area farmers, vendors, and educators for a food feast on Saturday, October 1. Read story.
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