The other day a few master gardeners were talking about a person who had the opportunity to interview a well-known gardener before she passed away at the age of 109: Ruth Bancroft from Walnut Creek.
One traditionally greets springtime with great joy as the season of renewal and a time to look forward to planting a summer garden. But, as we sadly pick our last succulent tomatoes, let's remember that fall can be just as promising a time to plant and enjoy a very different vegetable garden.
It's one thing to want a water-wise lawn and another thing entirely to commit to one. Most of my backyard has been under woodchips for two years now and I have become restless for grass. The space is set aside. The question is what kind of grass to put there. I don't want a sod lawn.
I have a bird and bee-friendly yardnative and nonnative annuals, perennials, birdbath, and both birdseed and Nyjer feeders, hummingbird feeders also. There are lots of bees, hummers, scrub jays, wrens, and occasional black phoebe.
