Barbara Strona
Barbara Strona is a native Californian who grew up in the Mid-West and Los Angeles. She and her architect husband, Carl, came to San Diego in 1968 and have lived in Mission Hills since early 1971. Barbara received a Bachelor of Arts from Scripps College with a major in English, and a minor in Art. She attended UCLA graduate school and received a General Secondary Credential. She taught English in Los Angeles, Pennsylvania, and at Point Loma High School. She has been a Realtor specializing in residential sales since 1984. Her passions include her job, reading, writing, foreign languages and foreign countries, animals (feathered or furry), theatre, and her family: husband, two adult children and two grandsons.
Barbara Strona's Latest Posts
Surprising Information about Bees
In April, the Garden Club met at Mission Hills Nursery to hear Candace Vanderhoff from Solobee tell us the truth about bees. I assumed that most of our food is directly or indirectly dependent on the European honeybees’ pollination. We learned from Vanderhoff that the European honeybee is threatening our native bee population by bullying […]
Companion Plants for Succulents
In March, the Mission Hills Garden Club learned that many plants thrive amidst succulents. Linda Bresler, a certified landscape designer, is truly an artist using living plants as her canvas. In her talk, she gave us a host of types of plants with which to paint our yards. We learned that from early childhood, Bresler […]
Kokedama Workshop
In February, the Mission Hills Garden Club attended a workshop on Kokedama, an offshoot of Bonsai, given by Kanako Yamada. Kokedama is a plant which grows from a sphere consisting of roots covered in soil and then wrapped in colored moss. The spere represents the earth. After feasting on delicious Japanese style hors d’oeuvres, we […]
Tyler Trimble Presents Fruit Trees and Soil as a Living Thing
In January, the Missions Hills Garden Club attended a Zoom presentation about back yard fruit trees given by Tyler Trimble, also known as Mr. Tree. Trimble, a third-generation farmer, and his family live in Bonsall where his “home orchard is a food forest.” Trimble’s talk focused on how to get maximum year-round production from your […]
The Pleasures of Age
For the past few years it seems that I devote one annual column to age. Before this goes to press, I will turn 81. I can honestly say that so far, this seems to be the best year of my life. First, I survived the COVID isolation; in fact, I turned it into a huge […]
What Shall I Do with my Poinsettias?
When I was a teenager, my parents bought a home in Brentwood, a Los Angeles neighborhood. I loved my bedroom. It was just big enough to put a twin bed on two opposite walls with a bookcase and planter between them. A high window was above the garage which shared the beds’ wall. On the […]
A Look at the Old Year and Its Blessings
2021 was certainly much better than 2020. First, it allowed us a bit of a respite from the isolation of 2020, especially for those of us who got vaccinated. I, for one, was thrilled. On the date that my vaccinations were deemed effective, I had a cleaning crew clean my entire house! I never expected […]
Trees Are Nature’s Pharmacopeia
Last fall the Mission Hills Garden Club enjoyed a visit to a magnificent garden and a buffet supper at the home of arborist Gary Walker, known as “the Tree Whisperer.” Walker, a man of many talents, has been “involved with nature all my life.” Son of a French mother and a United States citizen father, […]
The Pleasures of Age
For the past few years it seems that I devote one annual column to age. Before this goes to press, I will turn 81. I can honestly say that so far, this seems to be the best year of my life. First, I survived the COVID isolation; in fact, I turned it into a huge […]
Propagation of Bougainvillea
Some of you know that October is my birthday month. And, since we didn’t meet over the summer season, I decided to use this article to chat about what is currently of importance to me. In the late 1960s, San Diego State had climbing bougainvillea cascading down a hill to the parking lot just off […]
