Column: Josh Reilly Archives - San Lorenzo Valley Post

Gardening: In Praise of Spreaders, Fillers, and Colonizers

August 13, 2023September 3, 2023 slvpost.com0 comment

By Josh Reilly Some garden plants are a bit weedy. Indelicate and misbehaved, they sometimes “don’t play well with others.” Some of them will crowd and shade out other garden favorites. Native plant enthusiasts fear more catastrophic, apocalyptic outcomes, and in several notable cases, they are right. Miles of California riparian corridors are now choked with English Ivy, (Hedera sp).… Read More

Cornus florida (Flowering dogwood) in the Ben Lomond garden

Column: Josh Reilly Columns Gardening

Landscaping with Flowering Trees

June 5, 2023June 15, 2023 slvpost.comgardening0 comment

By Josh Reilly June is upon us. The plants seem to sprawl languorously in the blazing sun, doing nothing except tempting bees and photosynthesizing furiously. There will be long, warm afternoons sitting in the shade when the chores are done, the queen or king of all you survey. And whence comes that shade that mercifully cools your fevered brow? It’s… Read More

Column: Josh Reilly Columns Gardening

Showtime in the Garden: May Blooms and Vegetable Garden Bliss

May 12, 2023June 7, 2023 slvpost.comgardening0 comment

By Josh Reilly It’s showtime! We’ve spent the long, cold Winter peeking out the window through the downpour at leafless stems, shoots, and branches. And mud. We’ve allowed ourselves a little advance joy with each new leaf or flower bud that we see in March and the big warm-up, April. Then comes May. It’s a bit like that moment when… Read More

California native White Sage Salvia apiana

Column: Josh Reilly Columns Gardening

The Busiest Month in the Garden

March 5, 2023June 7, 2023 slvpost.comgardening0 comment

By Josh Reilly March might be the busiest month in the garden. For the Spring vegetable garden, you’re selecting and planting seeds in flats or in soil. You are prepping your veggie beds with compost, either by scratching it in with a soil rake or digging it in with a shovel. And you are knee deep in invasive Winter annual… Read More

Column: Josh Reilly Gardening

Rainwater Capture

February 5, 2023June 7, 2023 slvpost.comgardening2 Comments

By Josh Reilly It might be an odd time to talk about rain barrels and rooftop rainwater capture. As of late January, we have already picked up about 40” of rainfall in the SLV. Our gardens and landscapes are now trending towards water-logged, if not flooded altogether. If anything, we’d rather it ran off and roared away down the San… Read More

Column: Josh Reilly Columns Gardening

January in the Garden

January 19, 2023June 7, 2023 slvpost.comgardening0 comment

By Josh Reilly We had a strange Fall season in my little “holler” in Ben Lomond in 2022. Routine heavy frosts started in late October, a little ahead of schedule, along with other autumnal anomalies. Maybe it’s the 50 F temperature swings on clear days. Maybe the rare September rain triggered plant hormonal confusion, but the Granny Smith apple tree… Read More

Column: Josh Reilly Columns Gardening

The Warm Colors of Winter

December 14, 2022June 7, 2023 slvpost.comgardening0 comment

By Josh Reilly December is upon us and with it, the hot-colored Holiday blooms of Amaryllis. These bulbs are often stashed in a cool, dark spot and potted in October or November. Those from in the Southern Hemisphere will flower this month, and February and March, for bulbs from the Northern Hemisphere (often the Netherlands). December blooming buds should be… Read More

Column: Josh Reilly Columns Gardening

The Warm Colors of Fall

November 6, 2022June 7, 2023 slvpost.comgardening0 comment

By Josh Reilly In September, rains brought a flush of Summery green back to our hillsides. Since then, however, with warm dry air and cool evenings, leaves are turning shades of gold, yellow, wine red, cranberry, and strawberry jam. East and West Zayante Roads are great places to see the seasons change, but you probably have your own favorite spots.… Read More

Column: Josh Reilly Columns Gardening

A Time of Reflection in the Garden

October 8, 2022June 7, 2023 slvpost.comgardening0 comment

By Josh Reilly Fall has come to the SLV. Fall, for your Uncle Skip, is a time of reflection. It is safe to say that I have fewer trips around the Sun ahead than behind. I’m not complaining. I am fortunate to have lived to see this many seasons in the garden. Winter is coming. And I am starting to… Read More

Column: Josh Reilly Columns Gardening

September Garden: Digging and Dividing

September 4, 2022June 7, 2023 slvpost.comgardening0 comment

By Josh Reilly Time seems to slow down slightly in August. It’s too hot to do anything but water. But then September arrives, and suddenly there is almost too much to do. Time to plant your Fall garden — broccoli, cabbage, leafy greens, carrots, potatoes, onions, and late Summer/Fall flowers. Time to divide perennials and grasses. Time, also, to enjoy… Read More