Sunday Zen

Block Island, Rhode Island Irvine, California

Garden Journal — Spring To Do List

I wrote this list for the colder Western regions, but Barbara pointed out that it works equally well for March gardens in Southern California. In the Rocky Mountains there's a good chance you still have snow on the ground, or if the snow has melted you are dealing with frozen ground that turns muddy for...

Suped Up TBH

Mary Beth: This will be my last bee update from Block Island for a while because Ray and I are on the road. Durango, here we come!. Monday, May 3: The apple trees are blooming on the Island. The buds started opening up around April 27th, which is really early. As I mentioned in an...

Tuesday’s Tips — Phenology

Here's a fascinating set of tips courtesy of Mother Nature. Using Nature to let you know when to plant crops by observing bud break on plants, the first appearance of specific insects, or the migration of birds is an age-old gardening/farming technique. The study of this practice is called phenology. And although it can sound...

Tuesday’s Tips — Spring Chores

Things are happening fast in that garden of yours, so let's get right down to business. Tip 1: Sharpen Your Tools Sharpen your pruners more than once a year! Have a flat metal file in your tool bucket and use it often. Position the file at a 45 degree angle to the blade, start at...

Bee Spring Updates

Mary Beth: With the weather calm and warm since the heavy rainstorms came through last week everything is exploding into life. The bees aren't drinking as much sugar syrup and they're beginning to bring in large amounts of pollen. The major source seems to be the red maples. I added a few bars to the...

Tuesday’s Tips — Rose Tea & Weed Control

Spring has sprung in the West and it's on its way in the East — although with that crazy weather you might find it hard to believe. This week's tips focus on roses and weeds. In the Garden MB: Whip up a batch of my version of Rose Tea for a quick boost. I make...

Garden Workshops and Master Gardeners

Barbara: The wonderful UCCE Master Gardeners of Orange County are at it again. They'll be presenting a series of five exciting gardening workshops March 13 — May 15 at the Farm and Food Lab in the Great Park in Irvine (details below and in the sidebar). If you live in Orange County and are a...

Deer Fencing and Other Spring Happenings

Mary Beth: Memorial Day weekend on Block Island was a busy one and if it hadn’t started to rain I’d still be out there. The reason I was so busy was that this is the year Ray and I decided to come up with a real solution to the deer problem — well, I decided...