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
Life with a Drip System
Most of you know that gardening is not my favorite pastime. I love flowers and produce, but their care and feeding are not my favorite activities. As a teenager, I groaned in boredom during dinner conversations about crab grass, dichondra and orchids. My parents must be laughing at me now: 19 years of writing garden […]
Proper Trimming of Trees and Shrubs
This past year, John Clements gave the Mission Hills Garden Club a presentation on pruning trees and shrubs. Although September is not the month for pruning roses, the principals of pruning are basically the same. John showed us the tools he considers essential, some of the sprays he uses, gave us the rationale behind pruning, […]
Soft Succulents That Are Easy to Handle
Jeff Moore spoke to the San Diego Horticultural Society about succulents that “do NOT draw blood.” While succulents is not a scientific term, it has come to mean fleshy plants that store moisture. Many of these have such pretty leaves that flowers are unnecessary to enhance your garden. Best of all, Moore says succulents have […]
Save Our Bees!
I have attended three lectures on bees since I began writing this column. Years ago, a speaker gave an anecdotal talk to Mission Hills Garden Club about how she and her sister took over their father’s hives after his death. A few years later, at the San Diego Horticultural Society a speaker from UCSD brought […]
Reducing the Risk of Wildfires*
Last January Gary Ferguson spoke of some of the results of wild fires. He covered aspects of its benefits and those of its dangers. We know that today wildfires occur with increasing frequency; they burn hotter and faster; and they are incredibly difficult to contain. The consequences of wild fires are ecologically and economically enormous. […]
The Dangers of Wildfires
In January, Gary Ferguson, author of “Land on Fire,” pointed out some of the benefits of fire. However, wildfires have changed. They are more frequent, burn hotter, and burn more acreage, cause more damage, and kill more people. Why? Combustion cannot occur unless there is fuel, oxygen, and heat. Since July there have been about […]
Benefits of Wild Fires
Going to hear naturalist Gary Ferguson speak on wild fires was difficult for me. I have been terrified of fire since I was five-years old when the kindergarten class, seated in a lotus position on wooden folding chairs so feet wouldn’t bang on the seat’s edge, saw a movie about what not to do to […]
New York Citys’ High Line Park
The first time I saw New York City’s High Line Park Gardens was January 1, 2015. At that time, it was still in the fetal stage of construction. However, when Rick Drake spoke about the Gardens of the High Line, I was amazed at the transformation and am aching to return. Drake gave us an […]
Designing with Succulents
Debra Lee Baldwin frequently gives talks to garden clubs. Her most recent talk at the San Diego Horticultural Society gave highlights from her latest book, “Designing with Succulents.” Probably the greatest motivation for planting succulents in San Diego County is fire protection. During the wildfires many people said, “Succulents saved our house.” Baldwin showed us […]
