It was a few minutes before midnight when I pulled onto my property in the Santa Cruz Mountains. There, captured in the bright car lights, was an adult, un-collared mountain lion looking up into a madrone tree. As I stopped, the cat turned and walked deliberatively back into the thick forest.

We can't control those pesky weed seeds that blow into our gardens and take hold. There are ways to keep them from taking over, however. But what about those invasive plants that are already in our gardens like ivy and vinca major? What's the best way to deal with them? Then there are plants we buy ourselves that can invade natural areas. Are there better plants to use that are just as attractive and useful? Here are some solutions to make your garden happy.

It would have been in May of 1947 when Sister Claire, my French-born teacher passed a copy of the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ to each of us in her classroom. “Memorize this, every word, jeunne femmes” (young ladies), she said in her lovely French accent, “and one day, hopefully, you will remember it and understand its true meaning.”

When Boulder Creek Men’s Club was founded in 1963 with newly-built Boulder Creek Golf and Country Club as its home course, the redwood-lined links on Big Basin Highway were nine holes in length. A landing strip used by out-of-towners to fly in and golf occupied the space where the back nine stands today. Things have changed – the course was lengthened to 18 holes – but much has remained the same, including the venerable men’s club which celebrates its 50-year anniversary next weekend.