Category: Gardening

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

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

By  Josh Reilly In August the best place in the garden may be a big comfortable chair on a shady deck, with a good view of your Summer blooms. Penstemons, marigolds, petunias, some Salvias, some Begonias, and lots of Pelargoniums are blooming right now. Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan), Echinacea (coneflower), and Canna are in full glory. Low-growing, varieties of Sedum (Stonecrop),… Read More

By Josh Reilly Like every other great creative endeavor, the garden needs personal design features. Sculpture, rare old patio furniture, banners, mobiles, personal treasures. Weird stuff. I have a few such items, including a ceramic raven, holding a ring in its mouth, created by SLV master ceramicist Dan Hennig. It roosts on the fence above my rose garden, where I… Read More

By Josh Reilly It’s June in the SLV. The Winter rainy season is over. Short of a miracle or a biblical apocalypse, there will be no rain from now until at least late September. Water, as everybody is now telling you, is scarce. The meaning of “average rainfall” keeps changing. With less water, can we still garden and enjoy the… Read More

By Josh Reilly There are plenty of ways to economize in the garden. Grow drought tolerant plants and water less frequently. Plant perennials, shrubs, and trees in Fall to take advantage of the rains and lower weed competition. Buy plants on the “Sale” table at your nursery or garden center. Grow plants from seed. Propagate your own plants from cuttings, seeds,… Read More

By Josh Reilly The UCSC Arboretum holds one of the largest collections of Australian, New Zealand, and South African plants outside their continents of origin. It also has a huge native California Garden, a collection featuring natives and drought-tolerant plants that do well in Santa Cruz area gardens, and a Succulent Garden, featuring plants from semi-arid regions all over the… Read More

By Josh Reilly Might as well call it “March Madness.”  You will be busy this month if you want: Spring vegetables in your garden Healthy soil Copious Spring flowers A tidy landscape, with carefully pruned plants, clean paths, raked beds and fewer weeds Persephone is venturing out from Hades. This month, higher temperatures and longer days make your garden more… Read More

By Josh Reilly February, the month of love and of Saint Valentine. We know little of Valentine, except that he lived in the 2nd century CE and lost his head after insisting on performing Christian rites in then pagan Rome. For his trouble (and accounts are gruesome), he was sainted about 300 years later, possibly on February 14. Valentine’s story… Read More