Harmony in the Garden Blog

The other day I overheard two women talking about their spring gardens and one of them stated matter-of-factly that she’d never plant a flowering quince since it blooms for such a short period and then just sits there the rest of the year.  While its true that it blooms only once, in my opinion that’s …

 Festina Lente.  Powerful words used since ancient times by the likes of emperors, military commanders, authors, artists and even Shakespeare himself. Translated, festina lente means ‘hurry slowly’.  Personally, I think  my neighbor’s bumper sticker says it best –  ‘Hurry up and slow down‘. Out of the corner of my eye I discovered this plaque placed …

Phew – I’ve been busy!  As promised a few weeks ago, here’s the next phase of my front lawn-removal project. After deciding on the materials and final shape of the pathways, the next step was to remove the lawn.  A physically grueling task to be sure. Enlisting help from those with strong backs, we removed …

Today started out just like any other January day. For the past week, I had been admiring one of my favorite shrubs growing in my side yard – the humble pyracantha. I had been wondering to myself why more people didn’t love this shrub as I do. Don’t they realize all the seasonal beauty it …

It’s a new year and with it comes the oh-so-familiar new year’s resolutions.  And while I rarely keep the ones I make, this is a resolution that’s long overdue and one that I’m thrilled to undertake: getting rid of my unused front lawn. With California’s lowest recorded rainfall in its history (that’s over 160 years!), …