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Superior California mountain magic
Superior California is the northernmost part of California. Its fiercely proud residents claim they’re superior in many ways to their fellow Californians further south. I won’t get involved in that...
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Sunday stroll through UC Davis Arboretum (part 1)
One of my resolutions for 2016 was to visit the UC Davis Arboretum more often. I did spend more time there but still not enough, considering all there is to explore ( 17 gardens/collections on 100...
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Sunday stroll through UC Davis Arboretum (part 2)
Let’s continue our stroll through the UC Davis Arboretum, which began here.Unlike other botanical gardens affiliated with a university, the UC Davis Arboretum is not in a separate location but fully...
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Sunday stroll through UC Davis Arboretum (part 3)
Time to wrap up last Sunday’s stroll through the UC Davis Arboretum before it’s Sunday again. The Australian Collection at the downtown end of the Arboretum is the section most people see when they...
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Garden visit: succulents—and rare fruit trees
I’m happy to report that I have a new gardening friend. Her name is Marta, and she lives not even ten minutes away. Marta contacted me after reading my post about ×Mangave ‘Macho Mocha’. Last week, I...
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Before and after: what a crew of professionals can do in 5 hours
Today the tree service came and removed two bamboos and an Artistocrat pear tree. Now I can continue with the overhaul of one of the side yards in the backyard and finally do some planting outside the...
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Aloes in our front yard getting ready to bloom
It’s that time of year when the days are short and the heat of summer nothing but a hazy memory. Some people love winter, others would rather skip it (me!), but many of the aloes in our front yard are...
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The storm door is wide open
Whatever you think of the weather people on local TV (I get my weather online, so that tells you something right there), they're often quite entertaining. One phrase I vividly remember from years past,...
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Freeze ahead—time to dig out the frost blankets
The inevitable is about to happen. Temperatures will drop down to freezing or even below tonight and again on Sunday and Monday. Although the weather folks can’t seem to agree on how cold it will...
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After the freeze
On Saturday, Sunday and Monday night our temperatures dropped below the dreaded 32°F mark. Readers in chillier climes, go ahead and mock us all you want. It doesn’t change the fact that freezing...
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Happy Holidays from Succulents and More!
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, or whatever else you might be celebrating at this special time of year!Relax with friends and family, and forget about the turmoil in the real world for...
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No need to dream of a White Christmas, we’ve got one!
No need to dream of a White Christmas this year. We have one! Originally, we had planned to drive to my mother-in-law's house in Mount Shasta, in the mountains of far northern California, on Friday...
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