Time flies when you’re having a good time, and that’s exactly how I feel writing my 200th column for the Press-Banner.
It started back in October 2005, when I wrote my first column about the benefits of fall planting and this unique area we call home. Since then, I’ve covered everything from attracting birds to zucchini pollination, and I’ve barely touched on all the gardening tips and advice you might find useful.
Every week, I receive e-mails asking what to plant in a tough location, seeking diagnosis for a pest or fungal problem or even just saying how much readers look forward to the column so they know what to do in the garden that week.
Gardens here march to a different drum. As I like to tell newcomers from over the hill or Santa Cruz, “You’re not in Kansas anymore.” We need all the help we can get around here.
Please, keep those e-mails coming. It makes me feel great to be approached by a reader, Press-Banner folded open to my column, who’s hoping to make his or her garden just a bit better with my suggestions.
Gardeners love to swap stories, and I’m no exception.
I remember helping someone a while back with a planting plan. This person was so pleased with a new garden, but the next time we met, I was told that a whole section of plants had been pulled out after they turned red and then died. Could I identify the possible cause?
I laughed when I was shown the plant tag from one the victims — they were Japanese barberries, which lose their leaves in the fall. (They’re deciduous!) Guess that’s a lesson for us all. A gardener needs patience and a sense of humor.
Then there was the time one morning when I was spreading and spraying various deer repellents in my garden. Bambi had come to visit and helped herself to the salad bar.
I was devastated and dove into the war of the roses with a multi-pronged attack. Yes, I know they lived here first, but can’t they just eat wild berries? I spread blood meal, sprayed rotten eggs mixed with garlic and hung cloth strips soaked with coyote urine.
Just about then, my neighbor saw me and inquired what I was doing. After explaining my dilemma and how I planned to save the hydrangeas, he informed me that he had recently seen a coyote walking down our road. It was then I read one of the labels and discovered I was attracting coyotes in addition to deterring deer.
Live and learn. I’ve never used urine since.
My cat, Jasmine, is alive and well, and Bambi still sleeps below my deck. The moral of the story: We gardeners have enough determination and perseverance to solve world hunger if given the chance.
These are just some of my stories. I’d love to hear yours. Send me an e-mail, and I’ll include your stories as often as space allows.
Jan Nelson, a California certified nursery professional at Plant Works in Ben Lomond, will answer questions about gardening in the Santa Cruz Mountains. E-mail her at
ja******@ao*.com
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