The Real Dirt

Landscaping berms are mounded hills of soil that can serve multiple functional and aesthetic purposes in the garden. A berm can be placed to block or change the flow of water across the property.

Puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris) is an attractive green plant with small yellow flowers commonly seen growing prostrate along the side of the road. A native to Southern Europe, it's also referred to as goathead. However, underneath its foliage lies danger: spiky seedpods with needle-point spikes.

Summer has arrived and so has the dreaded, prickly presence of yellow starthistle, Centaurea solstitialis. Reports indicate that yellow starthistle infests between 10 and 15 million acres in California, making it the most wide-spread noxious weed in the state.

Every gardener knows that weeds are just plants in the wrong place. Webster's dictionary defines a weed as a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth; especially: one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants.

The devastating Camp Fire of 2018, along with the numerous fires North State residents have experienced since then, have led many of us to focus on creating a defensible fire-resistant landscape around our homes.