Garden Club

Dear Gardening Club, It doesn’t seem that April is bringing any showers, however, the native flowers are blooming in the Topanga canyons.  As California continues along this drought, I encourage you to look at Theodore Payne for native flowers for your garden.  One of my favorites is the Lilac...

Happy Passover and Easter (and other Spring occasions!) Summer time feels like it is in full swing, the birds are singing, the monarch caterpillars are hatching out, and of course, the strangely mythical Easter bunny has littered the ground with plastic eggs. This week is spring break for us,...

Dear Garden Club! April is a magic time, the height of spring!  Even in our drought year, flowers are blooming and the weather is s till mild enough to get out and take a walk around an old neighborhood, visit botanical gardens, or enjoy wildflowers in their moment of...

Dear Garden Club, It was great to see you and I wanted to follow up with how to care for your chive/herb penguin planters.  I wanted to remind you that the planters do not have drain holes.  So when you wet your planter, just use about 1/3 of the...

Dear Garden Club, Happy first week of April!  A huge thanks for all of your help in cleaning up the inner and outer garden.  Attacking the garden early in spring is not only more pleasant in the cool weather, but helps keep weeds from becoming established.  Your help definitely...

Dear Garden Club! I hope this week brings you joy and a little bit of rain.  As you know, California is facing one of the most severe droughts this year, and LA continues to offer rebates on rain barrels ($75/barrel!).  You can find the website at: http://socalwatersmart.com/index.php/qualifyingproducts/rain-barrels Almost 50%...

  Dear Garden Club, Well, the best laid plans of mice and men happens and we are recovering from colds in our household.  The great thing about being sick is that you get to stay home and get some creative projects accomplished.  Keep your eyes open to what’s new...

Dear Gardening Club! I hope this email finds you in peaceful enjoyment of spring and that your flower seed “bombs” have dried on your porch in the hot afternoons.  I wanted to remind you that flower bombs should only be used in an urban setting and not in national...

Dear Garden Club, If you were with us last week for the downpour, we had a great time painting with potatoes, but haven’t set them into the ground.  Which is all right, as potato planting season continues all through April!  We’ll wait for the ground to dry out a...

Dear Garden Club, I hope this week finds you well and hydrated.  It looks like rain is coming to Southern California! Baking Soda Animals Click here for the handout from last week’s baking soda animals.   – The baking soda animals can be stored up to 2 weeks in a...

Dear Garden Club, We finally get down to some planting and getting our hands dirty! This week we’ll be pulling our peas, fertilizing, and making room for a few new seedlings.  You are welcome to take home any leftover plants for your own gardens.  February is the last chance...

Dear Gardening Club! May this email find you well and enjoying the cleaner air from this weekend’s rain.  Unfortunately we need lots more rain to get out of our drought, but every little bit helps. This week’s activity has a goal for gaining a long-term view of the growing...

Dear Garden Club, It was great to see many of you last week and I enjoyed the new format to chat with everyone about their gardens.  We learned a lot from each other! For those of you who couldn’t make it, I wanted to recommend a gardening book which...

Dear Garden Club Friends, Happy new year and I hope you are all revitalized from the holidays (or relieved they are over).  With the unseasonably warm weather, my thoughts have focused less on indoor activities and more on getting outside to enjoy the Mediterranean weather. So welcome back to...