A Gardener's Thoughts & Fancies

5 Ways To Save Water

Here are five relatively simply ways to save water, an essential commodity of life. While the information is gardening common sense, it’s been complied by a terrific garden resource, Sunset.  Their newsletter is well worth a subscription. Select Drought Tolerant Plants Succulents create a marvelous bed. Planted together, these drought-tolerant plants with their outrageous shapes, [...]

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Saucy Succulents Exposed

I hoped the title might get your attention because succulents are a wonderful and extremely eco-friendly addition to any garden or planter, and, if you don’t already, you should know more about them. Besides creating colorful planters, as you will see by these photographs, I have included a couple of shots of a front yard [...]

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A California Shade Garden

I know the idea of writing about shade gardening while our temperature has been double digit may seem a bit oxymoronic, but what better time to contemplate a cool, shaded garden than during the middle of a heat wave. Yes There Is Shade In Southern California If you have native oak trees you can improve [...]

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RAMMED EARTH – Ancient – Modern – Sustainable

Rammed earth is a sustainable building technique that’s been around since man discovered that by combining earth, chalk, lime and gravel, pouring it into a mold and pounding it down, he could create walls, houses and fortifications. Ironically, I’m using this ancient construction process to build a series of walls, seating areas and terraces in [...]

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