Harmony in the Garden Blog

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!), …

A few days ago I spoke to my friend who lives in Boston, and when I complained that my garden was taking a beating during a recent week of unrelenting 28-degree temperatures, he was shocked – in California? Yes, even in the land of sunshine it often dips below freezing on a cold winter night, …

 Note:  This post is rated ‘R’ for violence Sometimes it seems my family lives to torment me – especially when it comes to choosing Christmas trees. It wasn’t always be this way.  But one year, when the kids were young, I decided to surprise everyone by bringing home a beautiful living Christmas tree, in hopes …