I started a new fall project this week - growing potatoes! The video pretty much shows you the what and how -- but I wanted to share a few other things with you about not just planting potatoes -- but about the potato video! First, I think I made a few mistakes as I was planting the potatoes, but I only realized this after I re-watched the video at which time it was too late to do anything about it! I'm sure you know that in the videos, I am always myself, speaking extemporan

This Covid Quarantine is still rough. Robert and I are continuing to be very careful, and so we don't go out very much at all. I still don't go grocery shopping, I use Instacart exclusively, which is getting old. I don't go shopping for anything except to the nursery which is out of doors! We have everything delivered. In addition, Robert got his second Shingles shot on Friday, and hasn't been feeling 100%, so we really needed to get out and do something to lift our spirits.

Honestly, the Mammoth Sunflowers have been the delight of late summer. I have watched them carefully each day. I have tended to them through emergencies, and taken too many pictures. But my sunflowers have done more than bring a smile to my face; they have taught me three important lessons this season. And here they are: 1) Time can heal even the most traumatic of experiences. I have written this before, but I think it bears repeating. Just as my sunflowers were getting to be

This has truly been an Adventure in Backyard Gardening - as the title of my Blog advertises! I have never before planted a full fall garden, so I wanted to do it right. Thus, I planned carefully, measured twice, read all the plant requirements, prepared the soil, and...absolutely everything went sideways. None of my best laid plans were able to be executed because I did not account for the trellis feature in the raised bed which I intend to keep in the garden, I miscounted th

Being away from the garden for 3 weeks took its toll on the tidiness of the garden And by now you know that I'm a little bit of a neat freak. And gardens don't like to be neat! That's ok.I am going to whip it back into shape. My first job when I got home was to think about my fall vegetable garden because that has an absolute time line that I have to meet. I'll be planting tomorrow, hoping to have a harvest before the winter. After that, I started worrying about all of the

I’m going all out on this garden planning project. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And as a teacher, I know that planning is the key to success. So I planned my head off today. I measured, and calculated, checked the vegetable spacing requirements, and put it all into a blender and came up with a schematic of what I think the garden should look like for fall. I based my decisions on the plants’ need for space, shade (lettuce) and full sun (carrots), and the ability of the g

It’s the first day of fall…and I got a metaphorical bee in my bonnet today! After returning home from Berkeley, and surveying my kingdom, I decided that it was time to get down to business. I intend to have a fall vegetable garden this year, and nothing is going to stop me. Not exhaustion. Not a migraine. Not 100 degree heat. And not my inexperience. I’m going to persist. So, I headed out to the nursery, bought the proper soil amendments, decided on buying some veggie plants,

The definition of entropy is a “gradual decline into disorder.” Recently, when I went away for a couple of weeks for the birth of our grandchild Abby, I left my garden for 2 weeks without a caretaker. And when I returned...disorder in the garden! I did hire someone to come and water everyday – because the temperatures were predicted to be over 100 degrees for many days. But while watering was taken care of – it was indiscriminate, by someone who didn’t really know my plants a

Leaving Baby Abby, our first grandchild, in Berkeley was very difficult. I cried. A lot. But one of the things that I thought might help me feel better was to dream about all the things that I hope to do with her in our upcoming visits. There’s so many competing interests for children’s time these days. And most of them include a screen. I know that her parents will make sure that she grows up with lots of wholesome activities, and less screen time – but I’m going to be in ch

Tonight, after the devastating news of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, a respite from the sorrow, and gratitude for her life. Watch as we explore Berkeley, visit our Abby, and then  learn the news of our heroine’s passing. It’s all too much. But finding solace in nature, and in the generation to come, can be a light for our tomorrow.

Reasons for the heart to be glad are everywhere. As we waited for our date with the most beautiful bloom in our garden (Baby Abby!), I found so many things that made the waiting easier! In the early morning I saw the most incredible cactus, mostly untended, with an extraordinary bloom. Actually, the bloom looked very much like the rare blooms on my night blooming cereus. But it flowered atop a scraggly, browning, tall stemmed prickly cactus. Out of the darkness, light. And th

It’s been a busy day. Baby Abby has been a little bit of a fussy eater, and it has taken time for her to get her rhythm. This, of course, has completely set her parents and grandparents out of rhythm! But today it’s possible that she may have turned the corner. She had two good meals, and her grandparents were able to visit and baby sit a little bit. Babysitting consists of us sitting on the couch and looking at her, while her parents are approximately 10 feet away. We could

Born during a pandemic, surrounded by wildfires, on the anniversary of September 11… our family welcomed Abigail, our first grandchild. What a joy! She is beautiful beyond belief. At 7 pounds 4 ounces she had to fight her way into world. Her mom labored over 30 hours, and then had to have a Cesarean Section, so that Baby Abby would be safe. But when she arrived, she had healthy lungs, and a strong voice! She will need that. Our daughter was magnificent. Strong, and unflappabl

I had to have a tulipiere! Just had to. But the one that I wanted…the largest one in the Delft store, which looked like a tall pyramid and had probably over 50 flower spouts, was close to $50,000. So I had clearly lost my mind. But hold on…I’m starting in the middle of the story. Let me start at the beginning. A couple of years ago, Robert and I joined some dear friends for a once in a lifetime European trip on a luxury barge (just 12 of us!) from Bruges to Amsterdam. Every p

Before we get to the Garden Tour – let me tell you how we ended up at Luther Burbank’s garden today. As I noted a couple days ago, we are in Berkeley awaiting the birth of our first grandchild. It’s been uncomfortably hot, we’re quarantining to be safe for baby, and last Sunday we had an earthquake here. Today we woke up and instead of sunshine, the sky was dark, and red. Like you would expect to see if you were at the base of an erupting volcano. It felt apocalyptic! The smo

Across from the beautiful Berkeley Rose Garden is a treasure of a park with an inspiring history. Codornices Park, (Quail in Spanish) is one of the oldest city parks in Berkeley. It is a tribute to a family’s love of gardening, the vision of a committed citizen, and the power of community. There are lots of small open spaces in Berkeley, certainly more than where we live in Los Angeles. And that means that someone here has advocated for them, planned for them, and pursued the

It’s a historic time in our collective lives. A tumultuous political landscape after Trump’s election. A pandemic. Protests over racial injustice. Extraordinary heat from uncontrolled climate change (over 120 degrees where we live in Los Angeles). And yesterday, here in Berkeley, an earthquake. My husband, Robert Hubbell, and I began our blogs, (Robert first, and most importantly) to help others navigate this historic time. Robert, who is an extraordinary writer and intellect

The Greeks believed that oregano was a gift from Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. She wanted it to be a symbol of joy growing in her garden. And in my garden, it is a joy! I do love finding out about the history and lore of each of the plants in my garden. It makes it all the more interesting, like a classroom full of students, with different abilities and interests. In a way, you really can’t serve the students properly unless you know how they learn best, or what makes them

I’ve been thinking about my herbs, and I realized that they do more in my garden than I had intended! I do use basil for my sauces, and for bruschetta, but really, I do love to see it sprawling everywhere, just green as can be, always trying to extend its reach into all parts of the garden! And I’m excited about the sorrel, but I know that I won’t be using it too much – I’m just excited that the transplant took, and I want to see where and how it wants to live in my garden. N

When my daughter and I divided the irises in my garden, the ones that my mother planted, I simply didn’t have enough room for all of the bulbs that resulted from my work. And I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be great to gift my neighbors with the extra bulbs? And so I began the project. I divided bulbs from three different beds in my garden for a total of over 200 bulbs! I wasn’t able to give them away immediately, so I stored them in the garage for a while; however, it has b