Under the Solano Sun

Since the rain and wind stopped, the busiest businesses I have seen on my walks are roofers, fencers andarborists/tree services. This last business got me really looking at the trees around me to assess their health. This is something anyone who lives in a home should do routinely.

In mid-December before all the rain, we spent a week in Mendocino and Fort Bragg. We always visit the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden in Fort Bragg. Whatever the season, there are always so many plants and trees blooming, and extraordinary landscape to enjoy.

The book How to Garden When You Rent, by Matthew Pottage (Dorling Kindersely, 2022 available for loan from the Solano County Library) is a good reminder that anyone can garden, regardless of whether you own a home, or rent a home, apartment or room.

When we bought our Ming aralia it was this stumpy thing with almost no foliage, not my idea of a plant I'd like to own. Fortunately, my husband fell in love with the plant, and home it went. It has been living with us for years, in health, in decline (more on this later!), and renewal.

As you may know Glassy-winged Sharpshooter (GWSS) was found in the Browns Valley Neighborhood of Vacaville in October of 2021.