Columns

The other day I visited three local nurseries to see what’s new in their bare root edible selection. In addition to the classics, I found a ton of new varieties for containers and smaller home gardens.  Now is the time to add ornamentals and edibles...

The Fiscal Year 2023-24 City of Scotts Valley budget includes cautious revenue assumptions as we continue to face inflation and economic uncertainty. The last year has been marked with rebuilding and resilience as we fully emerge from the global pandemic, while experiencing ongoing economic...

Several of my friends suffer from allergies nearly year round starting in January. Most of us don’t notice the amount of pollen in the air even when it’s cold, but my friends sure do.  Everybody blames the Acacia tree for their allergies, but they are...

You probably think of mums as boring. They’re everywhere at this time of year. Many consider them a bit of color on the front porch that you compost after they’ve finished flowering. But mums have a lot more to offer than that. Mums are in...

Summers are getting hotter and hotter. Our winters are colder. Climate change is affecting our gardens, too. You might be on the right track of sustainability and stewardship of the environment but can you do more? How can we live more in harmony with nature?...

School is officially back in session. A new school year can also bring new stressors. New teachers, new classmates, new routines. Change can be hard. We all want our children to succeed in school, and there are some specific things parents can do to...

My entire life has revolved around our ocean’s bounty, whether it be in the fierce beauty of storms I’ve witnessed living next to its waters in Ventura or during my early years living in Aberdeen, Wash. My winter memories are of fog lying low along...

Most of us would love to have a garden containing all California native plants growing happily in an ecosystem where everybody wins—birds, bees, insects, wildlife and us, of course. Our garden would contain flowers, shrubs, grasses, ground covers and trees all providing food, water,...

“In a recent nationwide survey of working age Americans, 79% agree that the nation faces a retirement savings crisis…more than half of Americans (55%) are concerned that they cannot achieve financial security in retirement.” —Dan Doonan, Forbes Do not buy stocks because market timing feels...

What was I thinking trying to talk a client out of adding grasses to her former lawn area? I gave her all the reasons she should focus on other low water use, low maintenance, deer resistant plants, but I can’t get the vision of...