I grew up on a 3/4-acre hillside city lot in Pasadena, growing fruits, vegetables, and flowers year-round in manure- and compost-amended gardens. From years of gardening, I know what "harvested at the perfect moment of ripeness" means and is passionate about enabling others to enjoy the benefits of "growing your own." I love growing just about anything, especially vegetables and fruits, annuals and drought-tolerant perennials, cactus, succulents, bromeliads, ground covers, and roses.

I earned degrees in journalism, literature, art, photography, and horticulture. After teaching junior high school, I worked in the Botany and Vegetable Crops Cooperative Extension Departments at the University of California, Davis. Starting in 1984, I contributed weekly gardening columns, features, and photographs to local northern California and national newspapers, magazines, journals, and newsletters.

In 1994, I moved back to her childhood home in Pasadena and revitalized the Master Gardener Volunteer Training Program for the University of California Cooperative Extension in Los Angeles County. I edited the third edition of Children's Gardens: A Guide for Teachers, Parents, and Volunteers.As Common Ground Garden Program Manager, I oversee the Master Gardener Program (seasonal gardening workshops), School Garden Consultants Program (school gardens assistance), Community Gardens Program (community garden assistance, and roster of all active county gardens open to the public), Senior Initiative workshops with seniors), Low-Income Housing Initiative (workshops at housing developments), all working primarily with low-income county residents. Our newest project for 2010 is our Grow LA Victory Garden Initiative (15 Master Gardeners leading Neighborhood Garden Circles throughout LA County).

Background Information

Yvonne's Favorite Websites LA County Cooperative Extension Our own -- information is the result of my 30 years of gardening in my Pasadena hillside garden, and 15 years in my Davis garden. National Gardening Association Lots of great resource info and for which I write the biweekly Southern California Coastal and Inland Valleys Regional Report. Organic Gardening   Lots of great resource info.

Briefly describe the climate where you garden now (climate zone, state, area) and any other areas where you have gardened in the past.
Los Angeles area:  USDA zone 9/10, and Davis area:  USDA zone 8/9.

How long have you been gardening?
50 years.

What triggered your interest?
My parents grew most of our fruits and vegetables, and I grew up knowing what "pick something for dinner" meant -- the perfect moment to harvest!

What is your specialty, expertise or claim to fame?
Helping gardeners to garden more successfully, and have great fun doing it -- we're all playing in our Garden of Life!

What is your biggest gardening pet peeve? Tell us about it.
Anyone insisting that their gardening technique is absolutely the only way.

How much time per week do you spend gardening?
Depending on the season, 20 hours per week in spring and fall, 2 hours per week in summer and winter.

How much time per week do you spend working at the business of gardening,such as consulting, reading, writing or talking about your gardeningsubject?
I'm lucky enough to have a paid job doing this, besides my "own" time, so perhaps 60 hours per week.

What gardening or horticultural clubs, societies, or organizations (or any other interest) do you belong to?
American Community Gardening Association , American Horticulture Society, California School Garden Network - Los Angeles Chapter

Gardening Questions

What do you dislike most about gardening?
My back doesn't let me do all the physical work I used to do.

What individual has influenced your gardening interest the most? How?
My parents -- father who tended the fruit trees, and mother who did everything else, including wonderful cooking utilizing all the wonders from our garden.

What is your favorite place or activity in the garden?
Anywhere that I find some tidbit that needs doing -- digging, planting, pruning, mulching, composting…

What is your favorite time in the garden?
Early evening -- perfect time for transplanting to allow plants to settle in overnight, mild lighting for pruning and harvesting and generally fussing over plants.

What is your favorite public or private garden in the world? Why?
All community and allotment gardens in America, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy

What is your favorite color in the garden?
Whatever's ripe and ready to harvest!

If you could grow only one plant, what would it be?
Lettuce -- varieties go year 'round

What group or kind of person do you think would benefit most from the advice you can give on gardening?
Everyone -- individual possibilities are endless, and very personal!

 

Would you like to participate, or can you recommend someone whoyou think should? We're always looking for more expert gardeners totell about theirphilosophies and give their plant recommendations contact us and we'llget started (it's easy and a great way to promote yourself).

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