Category: Blog

April 2023

I write about wisteria every April because it is so magnificent and worthy of having a place in one’s garden or patio.

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https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-wisteria-brings-joy-every-spring

March 2023

A friend passed away recently, and I wanted to send a specific floral look for the gift, a basket with pastel colors and an orchid as the focal point. I had contacted the florist that I usually use but she was unavailable for health reasons. Another florist that I have used in the past was out of baskets.

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https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-creating-your-own-flower-arrangements

February 2023

The holidays this past year 2022, as well as ringing the New Year in, were spent with my family in Spain. My daughter Yvette and her two daughters live in a small village on the side of a mountain about half an hour outside of Pamplona.

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https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-spain-basque-and-american-traditions

January 2023

January is the month when many of us make New Year’s resolutions. It is the month to throw off the old and welcome the new. Because we are welcoming in a new year it is also a fabulous time to think about changes that we want to make in our lives and also our gardens. It is also the month to feed citrus trees and plant bare-root trees.

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https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-meyer-lemons-for-your-home-gardend

November 2022

The other night as I was putting my dog out to do his business, I screamed because I ran right into an Orb-weaver spider web. It’s okay though because these are very large beneficial spiders in the garden. However, this morning I found plants in my garden suffocating from spider mites, a fast-growing stealth predator of an insect.

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https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-are-spider-mites-taking-over-the-world

October 2022

We fall into fall and look forward to cooler weather with leaves changing colors. Where we live in San Diego County, autumn is the time to start planning and planting our winter vegetables and prune back perennials. It is the time to stop feeding plumerias and other tropical plants and trees as well as roses.

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https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-fall-into-fall

September 2022

Think of the joy you will feel by making your garden into a butterfly sanctuary. It is easy to do. Even if you don’t have space for a garden, a balcony or the walk to your front door is a perfect spot to plant a passionflower vine in a pot and you will receive the Gulf Fritillary butterfly. Grow a variety of plants for other butterflies such as milkweed, which is also easy to plant in a pot, and is the host to Monarch butterflies.

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https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-easy-to-create-butterfly-sanctuary

August 2022

‘A tree or shrub with large, typically creamy-pink, waxy flowers. Magnolias are widely grown as ornamental trees.’

When I first moved to this property the idea was to put in a swimming pool. Swimming is my exercise of choice and I knew having a pool would be great for my children and grandchildren and their friends.

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https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-magnolias

July 2022

According to GardenGuides.com, “In Greek mythology, it is believed that the flower was a quiet and shy nymph that fell in love with a shepherd, named Alteo. Alteo had the physical beauty of Apollo and the power of Hercules, and he did not return Amaryllis’ affection. Amaryllis tried to win the love of Alteo by offering him the most unusual flower on earth.

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https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-amaryllis

June 2022

It is always thrilling to see the use of arbors, pergolas, towers and tuteurs in a garden. Queen Marie-Antoinette had an exciting, excessive garden built in 1775, making use of structural hardscape at what is now the large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris called Bois de Boulogne.

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https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-using-garden-structures-makes-exciting-gardens