Intrinsic Gardening

Don’t Worry, I’ve Killed more Plants than all of You

Written by Ron Vanderhoff

Twenty three more. That was the count last week as I spent a vacation day performing another plant culling.

Friends often say to so-called expert gardeners, “You must have a green thumb; everything you touch just seems to grow”.

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The Year in Gardening, 2009

Written by Ron Vanderhoff

Gardens change. So do gardeners.

Like every year before, during 2009 several influences combined to shape our local gardens and our gardening activities.

From my perspective, the biggest influences on local gardeners and gardens in the past year were as follows:

Environmental

Water, particularly the lack thereof, continued to influence almost every decision a gardener would make during 2009 and will certainly continue into the indefinite future. With below average rainfall during five of the past six years, California's water situation reached critical. Almost every community has now created landscape water restrictions, some voluntary, others mandatory.

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Why Garden?

Written by Ron Vanderhoff

Only two or three years ago gardening was pronounced dead.

The baby boomers, who had grown up playing in the yard - and often in the dirt, were growing older, replaced by Gen X’ers, who instead, had grown up with video games, iPods and walkmen. Trips to the nursery gave way to trips to Starbucks.

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The Gardeners Psychiatric Hotline

Written by Ron Vanderhoff

With the calendar page turned to March, gardeners in Orange County are reminded that spring is almost here. Many which read this column will soon retreat to their gardens for long periods of time. Once there, many will find peace, harmony and beauty. But a few, some of which I have met, will discover other, darker, qualities of the season.

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Garden Resolutions you will NEVER Keep

Written by Ron Vanderhoff

Ron Vanderhoff “Resolve, and thou art free. “; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Here are a few resolutions, realistic or otherwise, that I think gardeners might be able to relate to.

I will not still be buying bulbs after New Years just because they were "on clearance".

I will not impulsively buy pretty flowers that I know won't grow here.

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