Gardening With Tony

UNITED STATES—The majority of common pollinators are not impressed with blue. Otherwise, more flowers would be blue. After all, floral color appeals to pollinators. Each type of pollinator prefers specific colors. Plants customize their floral color to their preferred pollinators. If more flowers could attract more pollinators with true blue, they would do so. Instead, they rely on colors...

UNITED STATES—Home gardens and landscapes should be compatible with their respective climates. For local chaparral climates, plants that do not need much watering through the long and dry summers are appropriate. Aquatic plants are the extreme opposite. They require regular replenishment of the ponds that they inhabit. Arid warmth increases their need for water. Aquatic plant can not be 'drought...

UNITED STATES—Things might have gone better for Cinderella if she had taken a Buick to the ball instead of that detrimentally punctual pumpkin coach. It was on such a tight schedule! It might have seemed like a good idea on the way too the ball. It certainly was a unique ride. The problem was that it made no accommodation...

UNITED STATES—Floral color gets most of the attention within home gardens through spring. It should. It is the most copious and most colorful of color. Though, it is not the only color. A few species that provide floral color, and more that do not, provide colorful foliage. Similar to Olympic Medals, this foliage can be bronze, silver or gold,...

UNITED STATES—Old fashioned irrigation systems were quite thorough, and technically sustainable. They broadcast generous volumes of water over any vegetation that required it. Their systems were too simple to need much adjustment. Their metallic composition was very resilient. That is why so many old systems were in service for so long. Some continue to function. However, such old fashioned irrigation...

UNITED STATES—It is inevitable. It begins at about the same time that cool season vegetable plants start to replace warm season vegetable plants. Cool season vegetables are now in season, and will grow during autumn and winter. They replace warm season vegetables of spring and summer. Winter annuals, or cool season annuals, now do the same for summer annuals. Some...

UNITED STATES—There is no doubt about it. Weeds are sustainable. Otherwise, they would not be weeds. By definition, they grow where they are undesirable. Less sustainable vegetation should be less invasive. Also, it should be less resistant to eradication than most familiar weeds are. Unfortunately, also by definition, weeds are undesirable. They cannot become fads. Sustainable horticulture is a fad...

UNITED STATES—In milder climates of California, where many of us expect at least a few flowers to bloom right through winter, autumn foliar color and colorful winter berries are not appreciated quite as much as they are where autumn and winter arrive earlier, and are cool enough to prevent lingering bloom. Coincidentally, the same mild weather that allows winter...

Winter flowering cherry, flowering quince, witch hazel and forsythia are finishing bloom. Later types of flowering cherry and flowering quince bloom immediately afterward. Lilac, redbud and weigela bloom only slightly later. Flowering crabapple extends the season of such flashy early bloom. It is relatively easy to force any of these for even earlier bloom. Forcing is more popular where cool...

UNITED STATES—Nature is messy. It is that simple. Leaves, flowers, fruits and stems regularly fall from vegetation onto the ground. Animals contribute their mess too. Insects and microorganisms seem to eliminate most of the mess. In reality, they merely accelerate the process of recycling the mess back into more mess. Decomposing organic matter sustains viable vegetation as it perpetuates...