IT’S NOT A DARK, DRY BOOK! Apparently, figuring out what to plant in an area of your garden that has shade, but no moisture, is a problem that stymies gardeners everywhere. We have been focused like a laser beam on our lack of water and how to logically use what little we have and Planting…
book review
Book Review: Fountains – Splash and Spectacle
FOUNTAIN AS MUSE Sunday morning. Outside the bank of our bedroom windows, the fountain’s splash and play completely encompass the peacefulness of home. Our shy friend, a tiny iridescent green hummingbird is curiously eyeing the droplets arcing into the air. Especially while we are all thinking about water problems in California, enjoying a few moments…
Book Review: Succulents Simplified by Debra Lee Baldwin
SUCCULENTS SIMPLIFIED, Debra Lee Baldwin I think we can all agree that succulents are hot. In California, hot can translate to Dry and Dry to Drought. Which we have. I also think that we all want green, living things around us and that in our present dry state, succulents and cacti can fill an ever-widening…
Book Worm: A Review of Fine Foliage
I like to think of Karen Chapman and Christina Salwitz’s new book as the stylist’s guide to plant combinations. That’s not a leap, as a combination of plants devised by Salwitz—who is known for couture plants—graced the cover of this year’s March issue of Better Homes and Gardens. Serving Seattle clientele through her company Le…
Book Review: The Beautiful Edible Garden
A minor dispute broke out in my neighborhood this week. When a couple planted herbs and vegetables along their front walkway, the HOA president chastised them via email: “Now you have a garden in front of the house. Who approved that? Please take care of the above quickly.” To some, an area where edibles are…
Our review of Patti Moreno’s “Gardening By Cuisine”
I bet if a nineteenth century man learned that in the future hundreds of books would crop up to teach people how to grow their own food, he’d laugh, and then cry. How could a practice so central to human survival for thousands of years suddenly come off as a new hobby? Well, that’s exactly…
