Friday, April 23, 2010

DripWorks drip irrigation supplies


Just wanted to alert you to a great resource for drip irrigation supplies: DripWorks in Willits, CA. A lot of times, nurseries and hardware stores carry a small selection of drip irrigation parts. Not only does DripWorks offer parts and complete systems, they will even help you design your drip system free of charge. Leery of ordering through websites? Not an issue here. DripWorks has earned a Dave's Garden Top 5 Garden Watchdog Rating. Check out the reviews.

By ordering a Row Crop or Heart Kit through this blog post or the banner ad on SacramentoGardening.com, you will receive 10% off on a battery timer. Want to learn more about their kits? Check out these videos.

CCUH Rose Workshop

Thursday, April 15, 2010

I'm (probably) baaaaaaaack.


[When a man gives you cut flowers, it's nice. When a man gives you a rose bush (pictured above) on your first date... you might be a goner.]

It's been a year since I posted about my pending divorce and cross-town move. It's amazing how much has changed during that time, and how much hasn't. I think I put the T in Transition, because I didn't exactly delve into gardening at the new house like I thought I would.

First things first. Like my sanity. A little peace. Furniture, which I still don't have. Finding a new groove with my teenage son every two weeks for two weeks at a time. A new (and very important) relationship.

In 2009, I "lost" a husband of twenty years and two cats. The eldest of the two cats just passed away at nearly twenty-one years old. I'd had her for the entire length of the marriage. I do miss that cat.

In the last year, I blogged very little and Tweeted halfheartedly before deciding I hated Twitter. I did, however, do a lot of Facebooking. I loves me some Facebook. And gardeners are on there chattering away, posting pics and inspiring others the way blogs had in the past. And nurseries and garden shows are starting Fan pages on Facebook, so it's getting easier to keep up with the latest.

Will I continue to blog? Maybe. Maybe not. I do love being able to search my blog when I'm trying to remember something I planted or what time of year a certain plant bloomed, etc. And connecting with kindred spirits is an important element of blogging; Otherwise, why don't I just keep a plant diary, right? Note to kindred spirits: Find me on Facebook in case I ditch the blog.

So many more gardeners are blogging now, and it's hard to keep up. I abandoned the notion of adding more blogs to my blog's sidebar. There. Are. Too. Many. Again, Facebook can be a time saver in the sense that you aren't obliged to post anything but you can still keep in touch with friends far and near. And meet new ones in that weird past meets the present, Friends of Friends Facebookey way.

The downside to Facebook is that it isn't archived or searchable or editable. Argh! Not good when you want to find dated posts and photos. But you can play Scrabble with your friends and loved ones! Super fun!

And you can share articles and YouTube clips, not just on gardening, but on anything that floats your boat. Wanna make fun of Tiger Woods? Go for it. Want the latest news from all your favorite news sources? Look at your Wall. And, you know, good old garden talk too. It's all good.

Life continues to shift between peace and chaos, and in those moments of peace I finally feel the urge to garden again. Working part-time at the cutest little ol' nursery in town has definitely helped to reawaken my enthusiasm for plants. And the fact that it's Spring.

Time to bask in sunshine and to plant flowers and tomatoes and basil and those yellow zucchinis I love so much. And time to to yank out those God-awful Home Depot plants the sellers put in and replace them with cool stuff.

I also intend to buy a gas grill this summer. Yep, that'll be me... grillin' and chillin'. Because life is short and I intend to drink in every moment of bliss that comes my way.