Summer fruit!
Ah, one of the best things about summer is the abundance of delicious fruit! But sometimes you end up with some fruit that is getting a...
The glass bottle in the lemon tree
Well it's that time of year when the Alameda County agricultural department hangs interesting objects in our fruit trees to check for any...
Bean plants reaching for the sky
In the late spring I always plant scarlet runner beans. These plants produce large green bean pods. If you let the beans dry up on the...
Basil, basil, basil !
Genovese basil I always grow basil in backyard container pots every summer because I just LOVE basil! And I particularly love Genovese...
Backyard container plant harvest
Sunshine blueberries The only plants that we are watering during the drought are growing in container pots in our backyard. They can't...
The Mammoth sunflower and bees
As I mentioned in an earlier post, this summer we have a Mammoth sunflower growing in a large container pot in our backyard. Apparently...
Feeding the pollinators
This Giant Zinnia plant has been growing in a large container pot for at least 4 years! Interesting enough, now that I haven't watered it...
Sauteed green beans and brown mushrooms with pesto
Green beans are in season! Since I still had a small bag of brown mushrooms that I bought the previous week from the Farmers Market I...
Surprises in the backyard
Sometimes you just never know what's going to sprout in the garden. This terra cotta pot is full of dormant freesia and ranunculus bulbs,...
Ray Hartman Ceanothus blooming again
The Ray Hartman ceanothus, also called California lilac, is native to California. It tolerates very dry conditions, and needs to grow in...
