Pining for Smith & Hawken

Every now and then I check the Smith & Hawken website to see if/when we're getting a store in Sacramento. None coming anytime soon, apparently, but I did discover that we now have a Smith & Hawken "Authorized Dealer" in our area!

Davis Ace Hardware

240 G ST. (behind bldg. A)
Davis, CA 95616
530-758-8000

Woo hoo!

I still think Sacramento is worthy of a full-fledged store. They think we're not tony enough (locations are restricted to Beverly Hills, Walnut Creek, Palo Alto, etc.) and we may not be... but we sure love to garden and spend our hard-earned money on garden accoutrements. Heck, we're tony enough to use words like "accoutrements"! Give us a store! Please? Pretty Please? With a Mercedes Benz on top?

I Curse You, Computer Gods!

If you're wondering why the Events Calendar is down, it's because there are demons in the nifty new calendar software program I started using. I spent the time inputting all the fun happenings for May, uploaded them to cyberspace, went back to add a few more dates and kerplooey! Not only had dates disappeared, but some jumped to other dates! Soooooo.... I entered them again, feeling the pain of time lost forever to task tedium. That's how dedicated I am to the avid gardeners of Sacramento. Saved everything often (always save often), uploaded the calendar... and kerplooey... AGAIN! In defeat, the Events Calendar sits unlinked. Contrary to how much time I spend in cyberspace, I do have a life and can't get to it right now. But, hey, you shouldn't be spending money at another plant sale, and you certainly shouldn't be traipsing around another garden tour. Catch up on your laundry. Or spring cleaning. Or get your dates from the Bee, where people actually get paid to do this. ;-)

Cobalt Pot from Berkeley Hort.

In it, I planted a couple Annie's plants and a few annual seedlings from the greenhouse... um, um, viscaria 'Rose Angel', salpiglossis and toadflax 'Confetti' (Linaria maroccana).

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East Sacramentans, Rip Up Your Lawns!!!

That goes for all you other Sacramentans as well. Why do I wish you'd all rip up your front lawns and replace them with flowers and goo ga's? Because I've seen Garden Paradise. I've seen what we're missing, having spent a good part of the weekend driving around Berkeley and walking around in Oakland's Rockridge district. Our front yards are too well-behaved! They're... I'm gonna say it... boring! I don't think they accurately reflect our personalities. If they do, then yikes!

Oakland and Berkeley gardeners aren't afraid to let their opinions-- about plants, about art, about recycling, about anything-- show up in the front yard. If big blowsy red roses are dropping petals on the green Volvo still very much supporting John Kerry for president, it ain't no thang! If "Berks" have to slip on their Birks to go out front and do a little extra deadheading because Annie's Annuals and Perennials are blooming shamelessly all over the place, well, hey, crank up The Dead and let's deadhead!

Just remember, your front yard is YOUR front yard. Do whatever you want with it. Plant corn if you want to. Display that clay thing your kid made in art class. Buy one of those mooning garden gnomes and nestle it under your azaleas before they die of plant boredom. You know you want to... Put a little cafe table out front. Sit at it while drinking your coffee or your green tea. Shake things up a little.

I didn't feel like lugging around camera gear on this trip. Boy am I sorry now...

Almost forgot... I popped in to Berkeley Hort. and left with a couple Annie's plants and a gorgeous (yet reasonably priced) cobalt blue pot.

Medallion & Peace roses

Two of my fave hybrid teas, 'Medallion' and 'Peace', are blooming. Scored these at Home Depot last fall for next to nothing. Also got 'J.F.K.' and 'Chrysler Imperial' at the same time. 'Medallion' blossoms are HUGE!!!
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containerized Roma tomato plant

My most mature tomatoes, Romas, currently growing in a 5 gallon container and recently sprung from the greenhouse. Most of my other tom. plants aren't nearly as far along.
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Wallowater to the Rescue

Wallowater
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Mother Nature done be makin' a fool outta me...

My frozen fingers were barely able to dial Emigh Hardware's phone number to check stock on Wall O' Waters for my shivering in-ground tomato babies. They're holding two packages for me.

What the...

Tornado Warning
SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA
339 PM PDT FRI APR 8 2005

CAC067-082300-
/O.CON.KSTO.TO.W.0007.000000T0000Z-050408T2300Z/
SACRAMENTO CA-
339 PM PDT FRI APR 8 2005

...A TORNADO WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 400 PM PDT FOR NORTHERN
SACRAMENTO COUNTY...

AT 330 PM PDT...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED A TORNADO NEAR TRUXEL
AND INTERSTATE 80 WITH DAMAGE TO VEHICLES. DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUES
TO INDICATE STRONG ROTATION NEAR THE INTERSTATE 80 SPLIT WITH THE
CAPITOL CITY FREEWAY. ADDITIONAL TORNADOS ARE POSSIBLE!

LAT...LON 3871 12152 3847 12145 3845 12104 3871 12111

Millions of Painted Ladies Migrate through Sacto!

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The main wave began Monday, March 28, but this straggler stopped by my backyard, today, April 3.

SacBee.com article on painted lady migration