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ActvGardener
ActvGardener

ActvGardener

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Stream About me

  • Gardening Background

  • Biographical Information
    Born in Puerto Rico. Raised in New York state since age 7. Lived in all boroughs except Staten Island. Came to California in 1966 and moved to San Diego in l984. Owned a travel agency and sold it in 1993. Started serious gardening and painting after that. Member of East County Rose Society, Friends of East County Arts (FECA), Blossom Valley Garden Club, San Diego Watercolor Society, East County Art Association.
    I am now in the process of planting new fruit trees in my small orchard and redoing a garden in the back yard. I've removed all the grass and want just shrubbery and flowers. I have a slope that needs to be planted with drought tolerant plants.

  • My Mulch Profile

  • Website
    Working on one
  • Occupation
    Retired
  • Gardening Ability
    4 - Experienced
  • My 5 favorite plants are
    Roses, Irises, Lavender, Dahlias, Freesias
  • What is a garden myth you hear frequently which you know is untrue?
    That roses are a lot of work.
  • And, what is the reality?
    If you plant them correctly and prepare the soil and just really look at them a few times a week you can prevent a lot of problems. A few minutes a day and they reward you over and over again. Especially in our climate.
  • What is your favorite gardening outfit or costume?
    My oldest, most faded loose jeans and long sleeved T-shirt with garden boots or clogs.
  • What is the one question about gardening you would really like people to ask you?
    Is it worth all the time you put into your garden?
  • And what's the answer?
    It is one of the most rewarding things I've experienced in my life. I feel that a garden is a work of art in progress. However, unlike a painting, you never finish. There's always something else to look forward to.
  • Who is your own favorite gardening personality on TV, radio or in print? Why?
    The people on the Garden Compass radio show. I have met them on several occasions and listen to their program whenever possible. All of the information I've received from them has been valuable and has worked.
  • If you could grow only one plant, what would it be?
    A rose.
  • What is your favorite time in the garden?
    Mornings when the dew is on the leaves and evenings before dark. That is also when I like to deadhead and pick weeds.
  • What is your favorite color in the garden?
    I don't have a favorite color, but I do prefer pinks and blues and lavenders with a touch of yellow.
  • What is your favorite place or activity in the garden?
    Right now I don't have one. I'm working on creating one in the backyard.
  • What is your favorite public or private garden in the world? Why?
    I have a friend in Mill Valley, CA who has the most beautiful garden in a canyon that I have ever seen. It is a work of art and beautiful in all seasons. It makes me feel at peace and the more I look around the more I'm amazed at what she has accomplished.
  • What individual has influenced your gardening interest the most? How?
    A Mr. Engle who was the gardener in a boarding school I attended on the Hudson River in New York. He grew beautiful roses and peonies and I used to follow him around and he would tell me about them. I helped him with a vegetable garden and he created small plots for those of us who were interested and showed us how to plant the seeds, etc. That was the beginning. Then I also enjoyed visiting my maternal grandmother who lived on a farm in the Caribbean. I used to lay in a hammock in her flower garden and look out at sea. I loved being on the high mountain and seeing ships, seeing trains in the distance and smelling the flowers around me.
  • Gardening Dilemmas
    What to do when I go down 10 to 15" and find that there must be a huge boulder buried there because I find it again and again. I own a jackhammer and that can't penetrate it so I know it's not just hardpan or clay. Another problem is finding that the roots of trees are very close to the surface and I end up having to put things in pots. Some of the roots of the potted plants end up going through the pot and then I can't move them.
  • What do you dislike most about gardening?
    Trying to get rid of persistent weeds and getting through the clay and granite in order to be able to plant.
  • What do you like most about gardening?
    I find it very relaxing and rewarding. I even enjoy weeding. I feel sure that my hard work will be rewarded in the Spring and Summer with beautiful color.
  • Favorite Nursery
    Kniffings
  • Cat or Dog person
    Neither
  • What is your Garden Test Score?
    16-20 Very Good

  • Education

  • Interests
    Painting Watercolors, Gardening, Walking and Hiking, hiking in Europe