Every Wednesday our class has a field trip to learn a new slate of 12-15 native plants. So far we've only visited Tilden Botanical Garden- a magical place in the Berkeley hills not too far from my house. I love seeing the changes there each week. Here are some highlights:
In addition to working in my garden, I have a few private garden clients and have been taking classes at Merritt College in their terrific Landscape Horticulture department. So far I'm in the Intro Landscape Design class, learning the software program SketchUp Pro, and taking Freehand Drawing for Landscape Designers (trying to learn how to create drawings that don't look like a 3rd grader did them...it's slow going :).
Here are some examples of what we do in class:
We've had the very first (tiny) bit of rain and more is in the forecast. The weather changed in the last two days- it's much cooler during the day and mornings are damp. The summer annual flowers are almost done and the squash are curing in the garage.
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| kabocha squash from ONE plant |
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| tomatoes are still ripening |
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| the apple tree produces delicious apples, but coddling moth is a problem |
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| one of 4 "Long Island Cheese" squash |
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| a few eggplant- now baked and in the freezer awaiting Eggplant Parm |
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| peppers did well- Anaheim, Poblano, Jalepeno, and Banana |