Gardening
Annual Coronado Flower Show Commemorates 100 Years
Let’s put the “petal” to the metal! Celebrating 100 years of growth, beauty and tradition, the Coronado Flower Show, a co-production of the Coronado Floral Association (CFA) and City of Coronado will return Saturday and Sunday, April 23-24, 2022, the weekend after Earth Day. Flower Show organizers are looking for passionate volunteers to assist with […]
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 […]
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, […]
San Diego Food System Alliance Holds First Annual Gathering
After releasing its proposed San Diego County Food Vision 2030 report, a 10-year road map for building a more just, sustainable food system in the region, The San Diego Food System Alliance (SDFSA) hosted its inaugural gathering this past October at Coastal Roots Farm at Leichtag Commons in Encinitas. The all-day, outdoor event featured speakers, interactive […]
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 […]
Getting Those Orchids to Bloom Again
In June, Chuck McClung spoke to the Garden Club about orchids. Interested in gardens and gardening since early childhood, McClung received a master’s degree in botany from Washington State University and has worked in ecological and botanical research for several universities as well in commercial greenhouses and nurseries. McClung explained he has over twenty years’ […]
Connor Leone: How ECOLIFE Uses the Science of Aquaponics
We know our planet has serious problems with climate change, habitat loss, species extinction, the inefficiency of global food systems that casts doubt on our ability to feed a growing world population, and challenges with obtaining enough water to meet the planet’s needs. Based in Escondido, ECOLIFE Conservation is a non-profit organization with a mission […]
Raised Bed Gardening Options and Tips for Success
In April, Eric Olsen spoke to the Mission Hills Garden Club. Olsen, like Bill Toone, is with High Caliper Growing, based out of Oklahoma City. Olsen has had seven years’ experience dealing with soils, plant sizes, plus how to raise plants in an organic and environmentally friendly pot which lends itself to raised bed gardening, […]
Part 2: Adam Graves with more of the San Diego Zoo’s Horticultural Department
The San Diego Zoo is known for its conservation efforts. Familiarly called “Team Plant,” it is comprised of four sections. First is San Diego Zoo which focuses on research, conservation, direct science, education and outreach. The second section is San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research holding a seed bank with over 550 selections and […]
Adam Graves: Some History on Balboa Park and its Trees. Part 1
In February, Adam Graves, director of the Horticulture Department of the San Diego Zoo and previous manager of the browse program and of the zoo’s team of arborists over the past five years, was our featured speaker. Graves received his B.S. in Biology at UCSD and his master’s at Miami University. He also volunteered at […]
