PlantSF

PlantSF is reclaiming little patches of San Francisco greenspace where concrete has taken over. I like this. Even renters can get involved, with the landowner's OK.

http://www.plantsf.org/FeaturedProjects.html

River-Friendly Demo Garden and UC IPM Kiosk

Ok, so I checked out EcoLandscape California's River-Friendly display garden at the Northern California Home & Landscape Expo. It's really great to see this topic reaching the general public at a home show.























The Sacramento UC Master Gardeners also had a booth nearby. I finally got a chance to try out the UC IPM kiosk! Woo hoo! It's super, super cool and much smaller in person than I imagined from the photo on the IPM website. It's the perfect size for a nursery counter! I want one... though I have no nursery... rats! Speaking of rats, after a test search, the machine spit out environmentally friendly control recommendations for rats. A friend of ours in East Sac. is having a rat problem.





The little machine works great. The touch screen is easy to use, buttons are fast and responsive, and the little printer is a very nice touch. Great job, UC IPM folks!

Garden? What garden?

Rain, more rain in the forecast

By M.S. Enkoji - menkoji@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, January 26, 2008
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B2

Hold on to your hats for the weekend and forget about working in the yard.

Rain, followed by more rain, buffeted by unusually high winds will mar the weekend, followed by another seven days of rain – interrupted by showers.

"Stay home, rent a video," said Felix Garcia, forecaster for the National Weather Service. (Read More)

River-Friendly Reminder...

Just a reminder that you'll have a chance to see an 800 square foot River-Friendly EcoLandscape display garden at the Northern California Home & Landscape Expo at Cal Expo this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, January 25-27.

Sacramento landscape contractor Dave Roberts, who specializes in sustainable landscaping, will also be giving a talk on River-Friendly Landscaping at 5:00pm on Saturday, January 26th.

This is exciting stuff for "River City" gardeners who don't want to be slaves to their water meters or their lawnmowers but still want a beautiful, wildlife-friendly garden.

Hey, also look for the UC IPM Kiosk at the show. They've been popping up at different locations and here's another chance to give one a whirl!

Possibilities...

Timely tree article in the Bee

How to prevent your trees from toppling
By Clint Swett - cswett@sacbee.com

Published 12:10 pm PST Tuesday, January 8, 2008

No Mow & Blows Need Apply

How cool is this Craigslist ad? C'mon, Sacramento, where are the companies offering eco-friendly garden maintenance? It's time! I do hope the homeowners understand that using human-powered tools takes more time and that gardeners will need to be adequately compensated.

Reply to: job-530855537@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-01-06, 8:49PM PST

High quality home in Sacramento seeks environmentally conscientious, skilled gardener to come once a week to mow (push mower), fertilize, trim shrubs, do weed control, rake and keep our gardens looking in tip-top shape. You must have experience in garden care. No mow and blow need apply. Must be dependable and trustworthy. Please reply with details of your experience.

* Location: Sacramento
* Compensation: $200 per month
* Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
* Please, no phone calls about this job!
* Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

PostingID: 530855537

'Apple Blossom' Amaryllis

Day before yesterday... almost open

Yesterday... fully open!

This morning, on the mantel. So pretty I should have a party just to show it off!


I took it outside so I could get an easy shot of it in its reusable but biodegradable EcoForms Pot.

Wikipedia entry on Hippeastrum (AKA amaryllis)
Dave's Garden info on: 'Apple Blossom' Amaryllis

Winter Storm

Looks like I'm going to have to add "winter storm clean-up" to my To-Do list. Power was out for awhile today, twigs and leaves are everywhere, and my bamboo kite pole snapped. Wah.

SacBee.com has an informative Google map (w/pics) of storm damage around town. Check it out: http://www.sacbee.com/109/story/610296.html

A house in midtown was split in half by a giant fallen elm. I think I'll shut up about my kite pole now.

January lull

I haven't been doing a lot of gardening lately other than ogling my lemons, watching birds, and watching my potted amaryllis grow several inches a day on the kitchen windowsill. Its plump buds are just beginning to open. It was an 'Apple Blossom', plucked from the bottom of a nearly empty bin in the plumbing aisle at Emigh Hardware.

A couple years ago, I bought an 'Apple Blossom' amaryllis bulb for an aunt at Christmas. At first I thought, "Is this a lame gift? Am I projecting my gardening thing on her?" But then she raved about how it grew, and bloomed, and had several beautiful flowers. That left me wondering why I didn't buy one for myself. So this year I did. Oh, I thought about gifting it because who wouldn't want a fabulous amaryllis bulb for Christmas, right? Selfishness... and the rationalization that I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and die an amaryllis virgin... won in the end and I kept it for myself. And, hey, why hasn't anyone ever given me an amaryllis bulb for Christmas? Now who's selfish?

There isn't a lot to do in the garden right now except two important things-- pruning my roses and deciduous trees and applying dormant spray to my fruit trees. Not very glamorous, but both must be done. I sort of putzed on the winter veggie garden except for planting a bit lettuce and herbs and chard. I'm kind of sorry because I do enjoy watching my little dogs eat snap peas right off the vine, the little dorks.



I've also been experiencing some blog template weirdness and have been perusing the help boards a lot lately. I am trying to add a third column to my blog and in doing so, nuked some of the changes I had made to my template. Oh, I backed it up, but that doesn't save the stuff in the sidebar. My header is having issues too, so I took it down until I can get the third column up and running. Then I'll put a header back and do all sorts of other wonderful widgety, hacky stuff. Blogging is too fun. I might be starting a Dreamweaver class this month, so watch out for a revamped, revitalized, reborn gardening website as well in the coming year.