Garden Update Part II: The Good the Bad and a Lot of Ugly

...re under all that vegetation. A close look will also reveal a whole lot of baby fennel that, unless something called “weeding” is done, will take over the yard by summer. A greater threat is the asparagus fern (Asparagus aethiopicus) on the right, a vile and invasive plant that is proof of the fallen nature of this vale of tears. The plant in the center is from Annie’s annuals and I can’t remember the name of it. Kelly knows what it’s called but s...

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A Thanksgiving Debriefing

...t ditching the traditional side dishes? They have the taste and texture of baby food. What would happen if we gave the women in our lives a day off and had the men folk do all the work? Women seem to get the brunt of the holiday domestic duties. I suspect I’m preaching to the choir to suggest skipping the consumption nightmare that is “black Friday.” Consider this an open thread on the holiday. What did you do? Did a political debate break out at...

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Bidens rebuttal

...read already has me wanting to tincture some of it for its antibacterial properties. Unfortunately we’ve just pulled all of it from our yard and sent the plants away in the green bin, but little baby Bidens are popping up already, so I think I’ll let a few of those grow out. I have the feeling that Bidens is going to be a new permanent resident in our yard....

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Meet the Amazing Sierra Newt

...e’s the best part–he was breathing through his skin. The gills he had as a baby are long gone, traded for fledgling lungs when he left his birth pool. But once back in the water, he dispenses with those clumsy organs altogether and draws oxygen out of the water straight through his skin, in a process called diffusion. That’s right. This handsome orange show-off breathes in three different ways over the course of his life: by gills, by lungs and, c...

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Top Six California Native Plant Performers

...in the scientific name for this member of the buckwheat family. Give this baby some room. Ours is doing well in partial shade. 5. Toyon (Heteromeles arbutitolia) This treeish native stared the drought in the face and laughed. We planted it in the neighbor’s yard where it got cut down accidentally. A year later it had grown back to its former glory. Birds love the little red berries, which can be dried for a not very exciting human snack. 6. Coyot...

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