So many fun things to see at the UC Garden! And we were so lucky that it was open. Of course it was open air, so it felt safe, but tickets are timed, and many other outdoor venues have been closed. It was closed the last time we visited. And we wanted a place to stroll with Baby Abby. When we were strolling around the garden, I heard a mom (with three little kidlets) say, "This is the third garden that we have visited this week! Who knew there were so many gardens near San F

The last time we were in Berkeley we discovered the "Berkeley Pathways." There's quite a few of them near my AirBnB, and so Robert and I got a little exercise one morning as we waited to see Baby Abby. It was a lovely morning - just to be outside, enjoying some exercise, and drinking in all the flowers and greenery. Colors are changing in a much more dramatic way here in Berkeley than in Los Angeles, and that is also a delight to see. The pathways that we visited this time we

It's always an adventure, driving on the "5" as we say here in California. We have often driven on Interstate 5 to our mountain cabin in the Sequoias, but it's a whole new endeavor to drive to Berkeley on the "5." To be honest, it's rough. On the "5" to Berkeley, there's fewer places to stop along the way, and in the fall, many of the crops have been harvested, so it's also less visually stimulating. Since my oldest daughter was little, she has enjoyed "naming" the crops alon

After the trauma of Covid Testing (the test itself is not a big deal - it's the planning and the waiting that's crazy!), we decided just to power down, and drive a little. My friend Marilyn suggested this spot near us in the San Fernando Valley, and I had never been. I was so pleasantly surprised! It's so well taken care of, and, a little bit of a California history right in our backyard. California used to be filled with Orange Groves, and the California State University No

In some ways, we felt like we were in an emergency situation! We thought that getting a Covid test would be really easy. We had gotten one before, and there were lots of places, and lots of slots available over many days. So, we waited until the day before to get our Covid test appointment for visiting Baby Abby. AND that was not a good idea. The only place that had spots open was Dodger Stadium, and that's quite a ways from where we live, but we had left ourselves no choice!

In our family we call this park "The Duck Pond" and after you watch the video you will see why. Ducks and geese everywhere! Hungry ducks and geese! While we visited, there were two families that had brought dry bread to feed the ducks, and the ducks and geese were very grateful. We have so many fond memories of this park when our children were little. We fed the ducks just like the families that we saw on our visit. I do remember though that you have to be very careful, becau

I had a heck of time with this video. When I watched it back, I realized that I'm an accidental comedian! Oh brother. The two funniest bits on this video are when I stick my phone (and my head apparently) into the large pot that I use to replant the Aloe Vera. When I played the video back and heard the echo chamber in the pot, I was mortified. The second bit is when I try to show the large points of the aloe leaves, but really just wave the camera around indiscriminately in

Dryscape gardening is not a new concept. It's been around for a while. Its goes under other names as well, such as xeriscaping, or desert-scaping. The primary idea is that gardening should utilize less water, and conserve energy -- very environmentally friendly! When done well, dryscaping can be very beautiful, and soothing. Elements of rock, decomposed granite, and native drought tolerant plants combine for lovely vistas from the living room window or on a busy boulevard. Sp

Well... the video tonight was a struggle! I had planned on a brief segment from the front yard and backyard, showing my winter preparations in the garden. However, as I was working in the front yard, a stranger passed by the in the street, and began shouting at me. Now, he was shouting friendly things, but it seemed odd, and I became a little alarmed. So I quickly, put the iPhone in my pocket, and went inside to find Robert, AND I LEFT THE VIDEO RUNNING! Robert then came outs

Even though Thanksgiving will be different this year, I am still celebrating by being grateful for so many things. And decorating for the holidays keeps my spirits bright, and helps me to feel the gratitude of the season. One of the things that I like best about the holidays is decorating, though I will decorate for almost any occasion. Now that my daughters have homes of their own, I have scaled back a bit on the decorating activity - but I will always want to have a little

Arlington Garden has such a lovely history that I was immediately drawn to it. And despite the lovely walk that Robert and I took in the garden, it wasn't the garden itself that most impressed. Let me explain. First, Arlington Garden was born out of the generosity of community members, garden clubs, and a collaboration between city government and its citizens. The acreage of Arlington Garden was once the staging ground for the 710 freeway - but when that was halted due to c

Why I thought that taking a video of dirt would be interesting, I don't know. Honestly, this video is completely unwatchable. Watch me dig in the dirt! Watch me point at dried bulbs! Watch me talk about using a garden drill! Riveting! It's a mess. But if you can get to the end, the pictures of the irises that should bloom in the spring are quite beautiful. One reader wrote me today and told me that Robert and I should be hiring someone to help us with some of these garden and

I've now trimmed back all of the lavender in my garden and whew! It was a very big job. Two years of growth, and 9 lavender plants means that Jill's back is killing her tonight. I used several tools to cut back the out of control lavender! First I used an electric hedger to give the lavender a really quick haircut. Me wielding a large electric trimmer is a hilarious sight. A very hilarious sight. But I did it! Quite proud of that. After the large scale hedge trim, I then use

I've continued to battle pests of all kinds in garden through summer and now fall. I have to say though, that I am having a harder time in the fall garden than I ever did in the summer garden. The squirrels are so disrespectful, it's outrageous. They drag pumpkins from the display, make a huge mess in the garden throwing all of the pumpkin innards everywhere, and this last squirrel was so bold -- that even when the car was right on top of him, he just stood there and looked a

Just a brief reflection tonight. The video is lengthier than most, so the editing took me quite a while. But it was worth it to document for you, and for us, what Robert's newsletter has meant over the last 4 years. Once again, the quality of the video is a little unsteady -- I'm working on that! However, in this video, Robert and I were handing the iphone back and forth because we were both speaking, and needed to record the two voices, so the handoffs are particularly wack

The day after the election, Robert and I decided that the best thing to do was to keep busy, and so we made plans to dash up to our mountain cabin to help close the water system. (It's supposed to get to 2 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday). But really, it's not a dash -- it's a slog. And I'm just along for the ride, because I wouldn't be doing any of the "water system" closing. That's a small fraternity of mountain men that do that. But Robert said that if I didn't go with him up

As I write this, election returns are slowly coming in, Robert is monitoring them on his computer, and I am watching "Pretty Woman" with Julia Roberts. I just couldn't watch the returns. Today I spent the day in the garden, puttering. It helped to be outside, thinking about what needs trimming, where to transplant the rosemary, and planning where to put the new daffodil bulbs - dreaming of spring. Sometimes just looking at the flowers and walking in the garden provides a feel

This is a Garden Blog, mostly. A little history. I began this garden adventure as a way to provide calm, and to quell the anxiety that we were all feeling during the last 4 tumultuous years. Somehow, being in the garden, talking about the flowers, and contemplating little green growing things has been balm to the disquietude that has overwhelmed us. Gardening, whether actively or passively, can be healing. But today, as the Managing Editor of my husband's extraordinary newsle

Halloween was such fun, even during these trying times. We had quite a few trick or treaters, and parents and children alike, expressed thanks for the festivities that we prepared. It was a lot of work, which we realized mid-day when the temps rose above 85 degrees as we were toiling away in the sun on our driveway. But just as I had expected it was completely worth it. Dinner with my daughter and her new husband, seeing the joy of the little ones, the gratitude of the kidlet