How to Care for Your Dahlia Bulbs During Winter
Dahlia bulbs don’t like to be exposed to cold temperatures for too long. Here’s how to help your dahlias survive winter.
Gardening tips and tricks
June 2023 Rose Garden Update
We’ve had a truly bizarre year of rose growing here in Ventura, and I realized recently that I haven’t done a rose garden update in …
Rose Gardening: My Break from Knitting
Some Mondays are so Mondayish, and sometimes the urge to garden is so powerful, that I don’t even stop to change out of my work …
Winter Garden Plans for My Dahlias and Roses
The growing season is long here in Ventura, but it doesn’t last forever. It’s November now, and the dahlias are well and truly done blooming. …
Six Great Companion Plants for Dahlias
Most of my writing about gardening centers on my roses, but I have a soft spot for dahlias, too. I love the big dinnerplate ones …
The Simple Steps I Took to Transplant My Favorite Rose Bush
A couple months ago, I had to transplant my favorite rose bush. I was reluctant to do it so late in the season, but the …
Garden Update: Life After the First Flush of Roses
It’s June, and the roses are fading after their first flush here. Rose season starts early in Ventura, and the first flush is usually well …
Five Rose-Growing Myths Debunked
I fell in love with growing roses last year and have spent a lot of time since then researching how to keep mine happy and healthy. Along the way, I’ve learned that many of my preconceived ideas about roses were wrong. In hopes of sparing you the same misconceptions that might keep you from growing your own rose garden, here are the top myths I believed about rose care and some truth to dispel them.