Tag: horticulture
The Mountain Gardener | Beware of Toxic Holiday Plants This Season
To kick off this year’s holiday season, I plan to add some color to cheer up my houseplant selection. Sometimes I give friends and...
The Mountain Gardener | Thoughts for the Garden After Thanksgiving Day
The weekend after Thanksgiving I like to get my Christmas tree and put it outside in a bucket of water until I’m ready to...
The Mountain Gardener | A Poem of Thanksgiving
Once upon a time when our area was under waterthere were no parks or trails or trees or gardens.I'm thankful that our mountains rose...
The Mountain Gardener | Planting Season Begins for Bulbs in the...
I’ve never had the perfect growing conditions for bulbs. I don’t get enough sun in the spring when the bulb is storing energy after...
The Mountain Gardener | Japanese Maples Shine Bright in the Fall
I’m starting to see the beginning of fall color on some trees. It’s an exciting time of year. My friend, Kate, in Bonny Doon...
The Mountain Gardener | Halloween Fun in the Garden This Season
This year I happen to have lots of fall blooming perennials. Just in time for Halloween, the ornamental sunflowers, golden coreopsis and black-eyed-Susan are...
The Mountain Gardener | Everything You Didn’t Know About Mums
You probably think of mums as boring. They’re everywhere at this time of year. Many consider them a bit of color on the front...
The Mountain Gardener | Why to Plant Ornamental Grasses
I’ve yet to come across a client who doesn’t want ornamental grasses in their garden. Well, everybody except my friend, Sue, who is allergic...
The Mountain Gardener | Detection Dogs Are More Than Man’s Best...
I read recently that detection dogs in Lassen Park picked up the scent of the endangered red fox. They detected about 85 scat that...
The Mountain Gardener | Remember: Learn Something New Every Day
We’ve been told this all our lives, but today’s lesson came from a reader in Scotts Valley who shared a harrowing experience she and...
News Briefs | Published April 24, 2026
Civil Grand Jury applications due soon
Santa Cruz County Superior Court is accepting applications for its Civil Grand Jury, a 19-member volunteer panel that reviews...
