Like most gardeners, “live and let live” was my mantra. Scarce water has mutated that to “live and let die so others can live.” Plants must pass my litmus tests of 1) Does this give sufficient value in return for water used? and 2) Would I buy that for there again? If not, I murmur… Read More Live and let die
Fierce winds toppled our 36” diameter, 100-year-old, double-trunked live oak last week. The massive tree grazed smaller live oaks as it fell, crushed 3 Prunus ilicifolia ssp lyonii, stripped the leaves off 5 Plumbago auriculata ‘Imperial Blue,’ and shredded 6 Agave ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue.’ Where nature’s Rip-Van-Winkle-esque miracle had graced our outdoor living area, a… Read More When a tree falls…
Garden benches are prized as places to relax, focal points, and landscape design unifiers. Let me champion their conservation potential too. Witness data for our 4 benches. Consumption is zero for the 700 square feet of hardscape or mulch in front and under them. By contrast, that space done as usual in grass consumes 4,500… Read More Save with benches
Binge-watch season of House of Cards? Or binge-read tomes on gardening in dry climates? Coupled with on-site research, my waterwise landscaping crash courses these past 2 years were fueled by scouring the internet, buttonholing experts, and attending classes. I digested Western and California books in my library, and drilled deep into 72 more. Aha moments… Read More Binge-reading revelations
I used to consider weeds ugly. Now in a dry climate, I consider them bad. There’s only so much water, and garden plants lose out in a contest with weeds. Survival has supplanted aesthetics as my impetus to weed. Contemplate a dandelion that produces 15,000 seeds, or purslane whose seeds persist in soil for 20… Read More Wage war on weeds
When rationing raised its ugly head in early 2014, I realized how little I knew about our new California home. Even with my prior 7 years on climate change solutions, until that moment our local water use, the yin and yang of droughts and floods, and centuries of water shortage were not my turf. Armed… Read More My favorite resources
