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Happy Father’s Day to all the dads and honorary dad’s out there!

I’m playing sous chef and head dishwasher for my daughter Tamar, as she prepares a meal for her dad from Cooking With the Seasons, Rancho La Puerta.  This is one of the wonderful cookbooks from Rancho La Puerta, the fabulous fitness spa in Tecate, just south of San Diego.

Cooking With the Seasons, one of the wonderful cookbooks from Rancho La Puerta

Tonight’s menu includes aguas frescas made with lime juice and cilantro, Mexican coleslaw with red and green cabbage, lasagna Azteca with spinach and ancho chile salsa, and creamy dark chocolate flan with fresh berries.

I know my husband will be thrilled…not just by the food, but also by the fact that our daughter created this feast in his honor.

Tamar peels chilis for salsa

Gotta dash  - she needs oregano from my herb garden!

Later that night….

Dinner is served!

Happy Father’s Day one and all!

Years ago, a neighbor introduced herself to me as “the plant pincher.” I must have looked surprised because she explained that whenever she saw a plant she liked, she pinched a piece and took it home to try to root it. And, she continued, would I mind if she pinched some of my plants.

She assumed I was surprised to hear that plants could be rooted from pieces. On the contrary, I was surprised to learn I wasn’t the only plant pincher in the neighborhood!

My friend pinched because her budget was limited and her property large. I pinch hard-to-find plants in friends’ gardens (with their permission of course).

Rooting plants from cuttings is surprisingly straightforward. Not everything is easy to start, but once you understand the basics, try your hand at anything.

(more at www.Blackgold.biz….)

Fig tree cutting six months after rooting in potting soil

I had a delightful morning as I welcomed the crew from Growing a Greener World into my garden.  Growing a Greener World is the new PBS television gardening series hosted by Joe Lamp’l, one of my co-authors on my latest book, Waterwise Plants for the Southwest.

Theresa Loe, associate producer for Joe’s show, contacted me about being the guest expert for an episode on saving water in the garden.  Since that’s exactly what I spend most of my life talking,  writing about, teaching people to do, and doing myself, I was delighted to participate.

Me and Joe Lamp'l in my garden shooting an episode of Growing a Greener World

Joe and I discussed low water gardening, why it is important, and why I started doing it.  Being a California native, I have known forever that water is a precious resource.  One of my major gardening goals is to create maximum beauty with as little water as possible.

We toured my garden, looking at my new, low-water meadow, now six months old.

Part way through planting my new meadow

We talked about how to select plants that are waterwise, whether you live in Maine or Miami.  We most talked about efficient irrigation technologies, and ways to grow vegetables with as little water as possible.

Joe and his crew were a delight to work with.  The show will air on or around September 11th this year.  I can’t wait to see it!

Carl (or maybe Kilroy?) sets up a shot

Leo decides between iPhone and video camera

When Maury and Heather Callaghan moved to their newly built Olivenhain home in 2001, they carpeted the two-thirds-acre lot in sod. The New Zealand natives had lived all over the world, most recently in Kentucky where they had a large, woodland garden. Both had gardened with their parents as children. As adults, however, Maury’s business had taken them around the world, mostly where there wasn’t much opportunity for gardening, until they landed in Kentucky, where Heather became a Master Gardener. (read more…)