Out of the Wild and Into the Garden – Ask Garden Gal
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Horticulture Symposium Just in time for Earth Day, the horticulture symposium presented by Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont April 16 – 19, was a compelling and humbling overview of good gardening in the Western U.S., Mexico and specifically California. The three and a half day event, moderated by [...]
When It Rains It Purrs – Ask Garden Gal
Dear Garden Gal: My beloved and ancient cat died recently and we planted her (pretty deep, and with everything we suspect she’ll need in the afterlife) in our backyard garden. I’m looking to plant roses next to her final resting place. Will consider shrub or tree height plants, and don’t care as much about color [...]
“Trendy Vegetables” – Ask Garden Gal
Dear Garden Gal, I’ve just moved to Pasadena from Portsmouth, New Hampshire to pursue an acting career. It’s going really well, thanks for asking. In fact, I’m so busy with auditions, classes, workshops and mentoring at Sybil Brand that I have neglected the good eating habits that got me this far! I have a gardening [...]
Garden Gal Squashes your questions! – Ask Garden Gal
Dear Garden Gal, I’m sick of buying groceries, and I’ve got a huge backyard just sitting there collecting stray cats. Last weekend, I pulled out the dreadlocked grass and turned over the soil in preparation for my subsistence garden that’s going to help me weather the recession and get healthy at the same time. What [...]
Tomatomania at the Huntington – Ask Garden Gal
Tomatomania at the Huntington Over 200 tomato worshippers gathered on Thursday, March 13, at 2 p.m., at the Huntington Botanic Garden, in Friends Hall at the altar awaiting the Good Word on a favorite summertime fruit. So the news that there were no tomatoes for sale on that day rippled through the crowd with sighs [...]
Tomato Time – Ask Garden Gal
It’s March. In other words, you say basketball and I say tomahto. Though defunct nursery Hortus has morphed into an urban legend that promotes waves of longing in its patrons, Gary Jones’ tomato worship rippled into the consciousness of Eastside gardeners, resulting in, oh yeah, tomato mania. It exists in new forms and venues, via [...]
Tool School – Ask Garden Gal
I splurged last week at the new Whole Foods on Arroyo Parkway. I know what you’re thinking. Don’t we all, like it or not? Without digressing too much, I live with a vegetarian daughter who’s flirting with veganism. Even though I keep chickens for eggs, meat and manure, I can see her point. The delicate [...]
Getting Back to Business – Ask Garden Gal
As the sun peeks out from the recent rain clouds, these are the days made especially for gardening. Wet, workable soil offers up tender new weeds just begging to be pulled and the days are stretching slightly longer, giving us a chance to work back into the necessary rhythm of garden care. But like the [...]