Under the Solano Sun

What flower, plant or tree comes to mind when you envision the word vacation? During this pandemic, when I have wanted to get out and experience a novel (to me) location, my mind reverts to places where I lived or visited as a child and the flora of those places.

At a recent estate sale, I picked up a slender green leather volume titled My Summer in a Garden, by Charles Dudley Warner, Cambridge, England, 1896. It is a very Edwardian essay, but although flowery, it has a nice message! I am going to quote the first paragraphs.

A brief history....also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks all over the world. People were encouraged to plant gardens in World War l and ll.

While none of us could have predicted how our lives have changed since March 13th (the day our Master Gardener training class was canceled, followed by the rest of the classes for the year), nature has nicely filled in the gap and reassures us that life will go on.

Well I've been so busy planting flowers and a vegetable garden, I'm sad to say I didn't notice my American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) tree was having issues. Specifically, the leaves would curl and die, however within a few days new ones would replace them.