One of my absolute favorite spring bloomers is Freesia. A native of South Africa, their requirement of a dry summer fits well with our Solano County weather. They bloom in early and mid-spring, so, right now! I grow them both in the ground and in pots.
Every day on my walk I'm seeing more and more people installing the fake green grass. This artificial grass is not environmentally friendly. After 15-20 years, it gets put into the landfill because it is old. There are concerns about toxic runoff from the crumb rubber infill.
Growing ornamental gourds to be used for crafting is a long-term project, sometimes lasting up to a year, but is an easy, fun, and rewarding endeavor that both young and mature gardeners can thoroughly enjoy.
I recently moved houses and now have a beautiful yard to work with. Now the main question that has been running throw my mind since the day I went to the open house is, what am I going to plant?! All I keep thinking is "thank goodness I'm currently in the UC Master Gardener program!".
I commute to Fairfield just about every morning. While driving in, I listen to my Scottish crime thriller on Audible, and I take the time to look at the hills and note any changes to the landscape.