The Napa County Master Gardeners hosted a Fall Faire last month. The event turned out to be very successful even though Mother Nature paid a visit and gave us a downpour.
When I moved to a house on Napa's Dry Creek Road in 2009, I found myself living in the middle of a meadow surrounded by forest. The house looked bare sitting there in a grassy field. I wanted to add some color and make it look more inviting.
My neighborhood is the kind of place where you can put almost anything out on the sidewalk with a FREE label attached, and it will be gonea cast-iron frying pan, bicycle parts, a sofa, books, a box of Meyer lemons.
A couple of years ago, my husband and I decided to plant a lawn alternative in an unlandscaped part of our Napa property, an area covering about 1,100 square feet.
One of the joys of being a Master Gardener is working with a team to produce an educational event for home gardeners. To that end, Master Gardeners are growing gourds, pumpkins and Indian corn for our Fall Faire on Saturday, September 30. Find a link with more information at the end of this column.
I have two plants in my garden that are magnets for pollinators and butterflies. Both plants put on quite a flower show and are drought tolerant. Given our ongoing issues with water, this latter feature should be priority for all of us.
Most likely, you have been to a garden center and made impulse purchases of plants that struck you as particularly attractive. I've done so myself. Even if you read the label carefully, that plant may lose its luster after a few weeks or decline it's ready for the compost bin.
Many of our commonly cultivated house and garden plants contain toxins. During my 35-plus years in veterinary practice, I treated many patients for either known or suspected toxic plant ingestion. For the most part, plants that are poisonous to pets are equally dangerous to children.
Kale has the reputation of being a superfood. This is one of those vague terms scorned by experts, dietitians and scientists but loved by marketers. Kale is, indeed, high in vitamins and fiber.
Recently a fellow Master Gardener recommended I read Inherited Silence by Louise Dunlap. The book is described as an insightful look at the historical damages early colonizers of America caused and how their descendants may recognize and heal the harm done to the earth and the native peoples.
