Under the Solano Sun

The other day I was having lunch with an acquaintance who is a rose grower and a rose scholar. I asked him a relatively nave question about fertilizers and he started on a very detail and succinct mini-lecture which was very convincing. And it was also very appreciated by me.

There are times in the life of every gardener that you just can't resist peeking into somebody else's backyard to see what grows there. That's how I felt when my daughter suggested a trip to Iguazu Falls, Argentina. With a passion for plants and a love for flowers, I couldn't resist.

The Christmas cactus, Thanksgiving cactus, and Easter cactus are tropical ephiphytes with spectacular blooms. (An epiphyte is a plant that grows on other plants but isn't a parasite.) These holiday cactus generally look similar and require similar care, but bloom at different times.

The calendar says Winterbut out our windows, the weather says spring into action for Spring! It's time to think about those early spring gardening activities that give us a great excuse to get outside into the beautiful Solano sunshine.

When one has looked at all the seed catalogs, read and re-read the latest gardening magazines and old magazines - paper and digital editions, what else is there to do?