The Mountain Gardener | What to Do in the February Garden
Hopefully these cold mornings will be a thing of the past by the time you read this. My plants were much happier right after the rains when nights were mild. I’m waiting patiently for the buds on my pink flowering currant to start showing...
The Mountain Gardener | The Gardens of Poland
I’m vacationing this week in Oregon, visiting my webmaster Evan in Eugene and also my friend Janie who lives in the historic mining town of Jacksonville near Ashland. We have taken several trips together, including the Mayan ruins in Mexico and birding in Southeast...
Plain Talk About Food | Light a Candle to Help Others
“Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone's life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance.” —Roy T. Bennett, author
I’ve begun preparing ingredients for a “thank you” dinner for our Volunteer Handymen, who...
The Mountain Gardener | Watering the Right Way
Think like a plant. The weather might be cool one day, really hot the next day. And your plants are growing like mad in order to reproduce, which is their life’s work. All this takes water, which is the elixir of life for us...
Plain Talk About Food | A Watched Pot Never Boils
Benjamin Franklin, during the late 17th century, coined the phrase, “A watched pot never boils.” I am sure each of us has uttered that phrase at least once in our lifetime. I know I have, more than once this last month during our, let’s...
Hitting the Bullseye
While watching the documentary “This Changes Everything” on Netflix, I learned about the history of women in the film industry and their struggles for inclusion. One of the statistics included in the documentary about how films can influence us inspired this article.
In the Disney/Pixar...
The Mountain Gardener | Watering the Right Way
Think like a plant. The weather might be cool one day, really hot the next day. And your plants are growing like mad in order to reproduce, which is their life’s work. All this takes water, which is the elixir of life for us...
We must remain united
By Derek Timm, Scotts Valley Mayor
Our Scotts Valley Police Officers do so much for our community, and everyone in leadership agrees that we want to support them in every way we can. To say this year has been difficult is an understatement, not only...
Mayor’s Message | Scotts Valley Celebrates Our 60th Birthday!
As August approaches, Scotts Valley is preparing to celebrate 60 years since becoming a city.
In September 1960, residents learned of plans to build a cemetery in the middle of Scotts Valley, not far from Santa’s Village. Residents organized a protest attending a County Planning...
The Mountain Gardener | Celebrate Spring Equinox and St. Patrick’s Day in the Garden
Everywhere I look, it’s green—forest green, apple green, olive green, fern green, sage green, chartreuse green. Even all those showy flowering trees blooming now will soon be sporting bright green leaves.
Since moving to the Santa Cruz Mountains in the late ’80s I have always...
Three candidates vie for two Scotts Valley council seats
Mike Zeller, the director of programming and project delivery for the Transportation Agency for Monterey County, is the relative newcomer on the Scotts Valley...





















