Life is a Process of Planting Seeds

“Life is a process of planting seeds for the future.  This is how Adam (from adama, the Hebrew word for earth) got his name.  For the virtue of earth is found in the plants that grow out of it and in...

Musk Roses and Black Flowers

I’m in love with a ballerina. A ‘Ballerina’ rose, that is. ‘Ballerina’ is a hybrid musk rose and hybrid musks, for reasons beyond comprehension, are seldom seen in the nursery trade. Hybrid musks are...

Speedy Sprouts in a Mason Jar

Imagine planting sunflower seeds on Monday and harvesting them on Tuesday. Or, imagine being a sower of grains – wheat, oats, rye, barley, or rice – that produce after just a few days in ...

Watching Seeds Sprout Humbles You

I have often thought that if everyone planted a few seeds each day, the world would be transformed. It is a forever humbling experience to watch tiny seeds, often no larger than grains of sand, turn ...

How To Turn Acorns Into Oak Trees

As daylight hours are reduced in the last days of December, gardening may be the last thing on your mind. But with the help of some Styrofoam cups and a little soil mix, you can start many plants ind...

Love In A Mist

Love-in-a-mist. To a horticulturist, this one-word poem describes more than a romantic adventure in San Francisco. Love-in-a-mist is the name of a plant that feels at home in almost any garden and ma...

Seeds better than Six-Packs

OFTEN the thought of annual flowers in the garden is something like the thought of bungee jumping, the thought of spending a lot of money for a brief thrill. But can you imagine having deep beds of a...

Growing Wildflowers from Seeds

“How to Grow the Wildflowers,” by Eric Johnson and Scott Millard (Ironwood Press) should be on the bookshelf of anyone in Southern California who enjoys growing plants. From achillea to c...