You know you are from Santa Clara Valley when you can remember the smell of morning in the summertime. The sky is gray and damp with the low marine layer.  You open the door and it hits you: The wonderful smell of garlic from Gilroy in the South Coyote Valley. Even as far away as Sunnyvale, forty miles to the …

This past June was very hectic and I spent little time in the garden. I have the drip irrigation working again in the backyard. Marie is very grateful because I will be on vacation and she does not want to water the 100 plants and trees on that system. I had a leak from behind the hose bib and had …

I love growing garlic and elephant garlic in my Sunnyvale garden. They are easy to plant; hardy to drought and frost; they produce beautiful flowers (if you let them) and they produce garlic. The harvest process is not difficult but it takes some time: You stop watering the garlic for a few weeks; pull up the plant; let it dry …

In 2016, after two weeks of watching squirrels and finches sample the fruit, we harvested 24 quarts of Royal Blenheim apricots from the two trees in our Sunnyvale garden. That’s about 3 spaghetti pots full. What to do with 24 quarts of apricots? You do the typical things: Eat them fresh until your body rebels; Give them to family, friends, …

There was lots of activity in our Sunnyvale garden this past May: Spring flowers were finishing their bloom;. Summer flowers were pumping out new growth and, in some cases, early flowers. The stone fruits- plums, nectarines, and apricots – got larger and starting getting color. The tomato plants range in size from 2 to 4 feet in height. Some are …

The garden exploded in April with a full spread of colors. We had the full range of spring flowers and now the summer flowers have started. In May I will harvest the winter root vegetables (beets and carrots); finish moving the 24 tomato plants to the final large pots; harvest some blackberries and squashes; and try to identify the dozens …

I planted my carrot seeds earlier this year (in November). I started harvesting at the end of April 2016 (5 months).The results are much larger carrots.

This bush form of mulberry continuously produces sweet blackberry-like fruit throughout the season. A great choice for container gardening; minor pruning will keep the plant compact. Mature height is 6 to 8 feet if grown in the ground. I grow it in a 20 inch wide and deep ceramic pot. It is about 6-7 feet tall from the soil. The …

OK, I recast the color hue to make it wedder. But it is still a pretty grandiflora rose.

The Purple Trumpet vine has really benefited from all of our El Nino winter rain in Sunnyvale. The trumpet vine flower is great for attracting hummingbirds to the landscape. The beautiful tubular flowers range in color from yellow to orange or red or purple. Blooming on the trumpet vine plant takes place throughout summer and into fall, though blooming may …