Tag: gardens and gardening
The Mountain Gardener | Best Native Plants for Containers
A couple weeks ago I wrote about including California native plants in your garden. Since I have limited ground to garden, I mostly have...
The Mountain Gardener | Gorgeous Rhododendrons in the Garden
Every garden I visit these days has at least one gorgeous rhododendron in full bloom. They can’t help but be spectacularly covered with those...
The Mountain Gardener | Native Plants Offer Many Varieties
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,...
The Mountain Gardener | 1,000 Columns and Still Growing Strong
It all started back in 2005 when my first column was published in the newly combined San Lorenzo Valley Press and the Scotts Valley...
The Mountain Gardener | Flowering Dogwoods for the Santa Cruz Mountains
I don’t know if I like the pink ones or the white ones best. A flowering dogwood in any shade is stunning. My friend...
The Mountain Gardener | What You Need to Know About Wisteria
The wisteria blooming now are spectacular. I almost forget about them during the dormant season as I’m not fortunate to have one in my...
The Mountain Gardener | What Can You Do to Celebrate Earth...
The theme for Earth Day 2025 is “Our Power, Our Planet,” emphasizing the importance of renewable energy and aiming to triple global electricity generation...
The Mountain Gardener | Vegetables in the Shade
Being the type who doesn’t take no for an answer, I’m going to try growing veggies on my shady deck again. I wasn’t very...
The Mountain Gardener | All About Soil
The calendar shows it’s spring. The longer days definitely say “spring.” And the weather couldn’t be more “spring-like.” But I'm concerned about the soil...
The Mountain Gardener | Fragrant Plants Are Blooming Now
I’m ready for spring. Those few warm spells have given me spring fever. Many plants blooming now are fragrant. Mother Nature encourages pollinators to...
Scotts Valley crime rates rise in some categories, but remain low...
In a sleepy town like Scotts Valley, it’s par for the course that year-to-year crime percentages swing wildly.
If no robberies happen one year, and...
