Author Archives: Lee Miller

Gardening is always a learning experience which keeps it interesting as well as challenging when some new pest shows up or something doesn’t go as planned. No matter how much we know, it seems that there is more to be learned in a never ending process. This week I want to share with you some [...]

If you stand still in a garden of zinnias and other flowers frequented by hummingbirds, moths, butterflies and bees, it can be a joyful learning experience.  Years ago, I became acquainted with the Gulf Fritillary (Agaulis vanilla) butterfly after growing some passion vines to provide shade to the deck on my wife’s studio. I didn’t [...]

I discovered a Lily of the Nile, Agapanthus, which was a deep blue at my new home this year. The only ones I had ever known were either light blue or white. So, being a curious gardener, I looked up Agapanthus images using Google. I found that the genus Agapanthus consists of 4 species and [...]

Most of us find gardening a challenge.  So many plants to know and choose from, so many configurations of plants possible and so many things to consider, sun exposure or shade, plant textures, flower colors and advancing verses receding colors. What type and amount of hardscape and paths to include and also styles of gardens [...]

PlantRight is an organization that works to reduce the number of invasive plants sold at nurseries in California. Master Gardeners and other volunteers have helped conduct eight annual surveys to assess how many invasive plants are currently for sale and to encourage nurseries to stop selling such plants. This year, PlantRight is not doing a [...]

In this new age of ‘Fake News’ when facts are branded as fake and lies are freely airborne, it might be appropriate for gardeners to sort myths from garden facts. Planting by the moon. I had a gardening friend who swore that you should plant root crops by the dark of the moon. I don’t [...]

Succulents and cacti are a new world-to me. The word “succulent” comes from the Latin word sucus, meaning juice, or sap and we are unlikely to be saps for liking these plants. Succulents have the ability to thrive on mist and dew, which makes them equipped to survive with scarce water sources. In our drought [...]

Bare root season is here at nurseries and stores and it is a relatively short season. The plants are dug when dormant, hence it lasts from now to about mid-February, so plan to get out and get those plants you want to grow next spring while the selection is at its best. The season is [...]

A friend asked me recently if there are modest sized trees to plant for shade. Her recent experience was removing a Magnolia tree which had cracked up her driveway. The back-hoe operator, who took out the root-ball, said it was the largest he had ever removed. We have to be wary of planting trees that [...]

Gardening is not just about plants, landscapes, flowers and vegetables. There is always the basis of a great garden—the soil to consider. I always recommend to people who want to get back to the land or want to commit to serious gardening to check out the soil before they buy property. That said, I recently [...]