Behold the Ant Lion

...have been made by a big man’s thumb. I might think it was made by dripping water, if there was ever any water anywhere in this dry land. The answer was “ant lion” — and I was the only one among them who did not know the answer. Ant lion??? It was such as strange conjunction of terms (see jackalope) that I thought they were pulling my leg. When I got home and checked the Internets, I realized that, as always, truth is stranger than fiction. The nam...

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A Year After the Age of Limits: Mr. Homegrown’s Take

...aker Alejandro Jodorowsy once said, “One day, someone showed me a glass of water that was half full. And he said, “Is it half full or half empty?” So I drank the water. No more problem.” In her post Mrs. Homegrown mentioned that I had more to say about last year’s Age of Limits Conference. I don’t have much. She’s is a much better writer than I and she said pretty much everything I would have said. Not to minimize the challenges we all face from r...

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Will the Lawn Rebate Turn LA into a Gravel Moonscape?

...nintended consequences! Drought conditions here in California prompted our water utilities to offer rebates for ripping out water hungry lawns. Unfortunately, as Ivette Soler has pointed out in a blog post, “The Road to Hell is Paved with Chunky Gravel and Indifferently Chosen Plants,” unscrupulous “landscapers” are taking those rebates and installing gravel and mulch moonscapes. It’s an education problem. For most people plants are a sort of gree...

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So Cal Alert: Polyphagus Shot Hole Borer

...The Shot Hole Borer is merely upping the stakes. Keep in mind that a mature tree needs to be watered such that the water penetrates to a depth of two or three feet. That’s no quick sprinkle with a hose! Visit the Inland Urban Forest Council to download a PDF about how to properly water your trees. Also, we might suggest that this is a great time to install a laundry to landscape graywater system. Many thanks to our excellent arborist, Nick Araya...

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Saturday Tweets: Cow Appreciation Day

...com/QxzmAXw2Rh — Scratching The Surface (@surfacepodcast) July 9, 2018 Low-water gardens buzz with life. They are bright, brilliant, colorful gardens with as much interest and variety—and in some ways more—than any other gardens. In fact, color and low water go hand in hand. https://t.co/Z4ltkYnlXo pic.twitter.com/oGny74F3TD — Timber Press (@timberpress) July 10, 2018 “Eventually, I gave up on staying on protected bike routes and went for cruising...

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