seedlings in terracotta pots Columns Gardening 

March Gardening: Propagating, Planting, and Pruning

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
Winter gardening pruning apple trees Columns Gardening 

Ben Lomond Gardener: Nip and Tuck for the New Year

On December 21, the Winter Solstice, we rounded the corner at the wintery end of the year’s ellipse. After this most sacred of all garden holy days, the hours of sunlight begin to increase again, as the Northern Hemisphere starts tilting back towards the sun. Meanwhile, the winter garden is a cool, calm, relaxing place. The bones (roots, branches and... Read More
Fall Garden San Lorenzo Valley Columns Gardening 

The Valley Gardener: Digging Deep into Autumn

By Marielle Martin As fall folds toward winter it’s time to get into the garden and prepare for new weather. We’re lucky here in the Santa Cruz Mountains, blessed with a mild autumn favorable to working outside. Aside from our evergreens, colder temps lay much in the garden bare, exposing the bones or architecture of our outdoor spaces. Those bones… Read More