Under the Solano Sun

The recent streak of warm weather has alerted the fruit trees around us to flower. Pictured above is a pluot tree budding in my backyard. What the heck is a pluot? It's a cross between a plum and an apricot both stone fruit trees. Pluots are a second generation of hybrid plum-apricots.

UC Cooperative Extension County Master Gardeners (Solano & Yolo) are currently renovating the 900 square foot Willis Linn Jepson Native Plant Garden at the Pea Adobe in Vacaville.

In my journey with growing and propagating African Violets, I have learned a few things along the way. Such as: violets are not just the purple kitchen windowsill flower that most of our grandmothers and mothers had! African Violets come in almost every color (except yellow), and many sizes.

This last year we had to level our yard to address drainage issues that would have compromised our foundation. We removed the lawn and leveled the yard and now had a blank slate to work with, so we decided to create a berm.

Happy Valentine's Day! What are you giving or hoping to receive for the day? Maybe, some perfume or cologne? Scents, smells and odors are vaporized, volatile molecules of a substance (another body or maybe our own, a flower, some decomposing matter) that we take into our own bodies when we inhale.