Horticulture

In May, the Los Gatos Town Council decided it was going to use $2.9 million of the money Washington gave it to make it through the pandemic toward various capital projects. And on Tuesday, Los Gatos’ elected officials (minus Vice Mayor Maria Ristow, who was...

Winter is bare root season, which is the best time for installation of deciduous fruit trees. It is also the best time for dormant pruning of deciduous fruit trees. Evergreen fruit trees do not get much attention. Installation and any pruning of evergreen fruit...

Autumn foliar color certainly is pretty while it lasts. Although less prominent locally than it is where cooler weather begins earlier, it is an asset to many home gardens. It generally appears a bit later within mild climates here, but might also remain suspended...

Living Christmas trees require attention after Christmas. Some can only be contained for a few years, while others need to be graduated to the garden.

Seed is the most familiar source of much of the vegetation that inhabits home gardens. It is the origin of almost all vegetables and most annual flowers. Some seed grows directly into its gardens. Some grows in nurseries to become saleable young plants. Seed...

Old fashioned irrigation systems were quite thorough, and technically sustainable. They broadcast generous volumes of water over any vegetation that required it. Their systems were too simple to need much adjustment. Their metallic composition was very resilient. That is why so many old systems...

Home gardens are becoming shadier. Modern homes are taller to fit closer together. Modern fences are taller to compensate. Densely evergreen trees and large shrubbery compensate more. Taller homes and fences, and denser vegetation, shade more of their smaller modern parcels. Not much sunlight...

You'll be able to say "Hello," to a California King Snake named Morticia and dig into Earth's history as part of a special event organized by the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department. That's because the Wildlife Education & Rehabilitation Center and the Santa...

All cacti are succulents. However, not all succulents are cacti. Actually, cacti are a very unique family. Their distinctive spines and thorns are very specialized leaves and stems. Such specialized leaves can not photosynthesize without green chlorophyll. Therefore, cacti rely on their succulent green...

Halloween seems to be an appropriate time to bury early spring bulbs in shallow graves. The season begins about now, and continues until about the end of the year. Installation of new bulbs might initially be ungratifying. There is nothing to show after their...