Thomas Hogye, an avid fly fisherman, won a hat for knowing the San Lorenzo River is 29.4 miles long. This was the first of many interesting facts shared at the State of the San Lorenzo River Symposium held at the Zayante Fire House last weekend.

The heavy rain wasn’t going to stop Evan Morrison, intake and outreach specialist for Supportive Services for Veteran Families with the Homeless Services Center, from doing his work.

Twice a month a group of people meet at the Senior Center at Highlands Park in Ben Lomond. The goal is to have a space to talk about the inevitable—how to best support someone before they die.

The redbud are just starting to show color in my yard. Flowering plum, tulip magnolia, manzanita, forsythia, flowering currant and quince are blooming in many a garden. Even the deciduous trees and plants that look bare now are starting to grow new roots deep underground. It's time to plan this year's garden. Think about how you can blend artistry with ecology.

Special to the Press Banner

If the Judge and Mrs. Logan had been as busy as usual, Brookdale might not have happened.  Unseated in the 1896 election, James Harvey Logan could not return to his previous job as bank president because a close friend was doing it.  Meanwhile, the former Catherine Murphy was experiencing a serious case of empty nest syndrome.

A couple weeks ago in a column about allergy free landscaping, I mentioned dogwood being a good tree choice as their pollen is not wind borne. Their showy flowers are pollinated by insects rather than by the wind. Producing less pollen, their pollen is large and heavy, sticking to insects rather than becoming airborne and leading to sneezing, runny noses and watery eyes. With dogwoods about to burst into bloom I thought I’d share some information about growing this iconic tree.

You can tell right away when you walk out the door how hot or cold it is, how windy, shady, moist or dry. You know if your soil is pure sand or hard clay because you’ve dug a few holes in your time. You don’t need a book to tell you these things. So why are the gardening zones described in Sunset Western Gardening book important when you add a new plant to your garden? And why are they so confusing in our area? The USDA Plant Hardiness zone map may tell you where a plant may survive the winter but climate zone maps let you see where that plant will thrive year round.