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Each time I'm in my garden it's a different experience. The familiar buzz of hummingbird wings brings a smile to my face. Sometimes it's the silence that gets my attention. Where are the chirping songbirds or the raucous scolding of the jays? Where is the wind, the rustling of the forest grass leaves? Other times the quaking of the redwood boughs a hundred feet up makes the garden come alive like giant wind chimes. Sound adds dimension to the garden.

Every drop of rain that hits bare soil is destructive. More than 3,000 years ago the Chinese knew how to protect their soil from erosion and increase fertility by planting cover crops. Early Nile Valley inhabitants 3,500 years ago also practiced this method of agriculture as did first century Romans. Lupines were planted in poor soil when no animal manure was to be had. I learned this and also how to protect and improve my soil from Orin Martin, manager of the Alan Chadwick Garden at a cover crop workshop recently on the University of California, Santa Cruz campus.

In a battle between the top two teams in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League,