This week has been spent harvesting the vegetable plants, grape vines and fruit trees. We made jelly with ten and a half pounds of white concord grapes which yielded thirteen 12 ounce jars of jelly. This year we added calcium water to the pectin which allowed us to cut the sugar almost in half.

The jelly making inspired me to harvest some little peaches from a tree that's been trying really hard to produce a nice crop this year. The tree was loaded with small peaches just beginning to ripen up. So the first night the valley was threatened with a killing frost, I picked about 25 pounds of peaches, brought them in and am letting them ripen indoors. The taste of the peaches isn't that good, but the tree put out such an effort that it seems the least we can do is make some peach jelly. I'll add a little peach nectar to the juice for a flavor boost.

The tomato crop was not nearly as large as recent years past. Not nearly. Usually the day before the frost we bring in enough green tomatoes to line all the window sills in the house several layers thick. This year we'll be lucky to fill two sills with a single layer.

We also brought in all the house plants that live out of doors in the summer, but must come back in to escape the winter cold.

We then made baba ganoush with several small eggplant, baked some pita bread, then went to see the Nevada Opera's production of Carmen. It was an excellent show.

Tomatoes are beautiful this year. Many are on the vine, ripening now. Our extended warm, sunny weather has been good to them. The plants themselves are looking autumn like, yellowing leaves showing off the reddening nightshade berries.

People used to be afraid of tomatoes, thinking them to be an equivalent to Sleeping Beauty's poisoned apple. Some people claim real life allergies related to eating not only the tomato, but food of all the nightshades. Still others define the tomato as a superfood.

It does seem, for this table anyway, that tomatoes are an essential human food, if not for its super nutritional qualities, then because of its flavor. From a Beefsteak on a (veggie) burger to fresh mozzarella and basil, to sweet and savory pies, the tomato has definitely become a companion plant.

This year's weather shows, too, how gardeners use tomatoes as signal plants for defining the season. "The tomatoes are slow this year." "The tomatoes are waiting for the warmer days to come." "The tomatoes are reacting to a month of steady warmth and sun."

These tomatoes joyfully offered themselves to became sauce for a thin crusted pizza.

In Defense of Food

Food Defense. It's so prevalent that the dynamic between the defense of food and the threat of sabotage could be claimed as a major force motivating the emergence and movement of human history. The use of poisons to sabotage food for political reasons dates back several thousand years in some cultures. In the west, not long after the discovery and empirical analysis of what makes a poison a poison, defense against the misuse of poisons found its place as a cultural phenomenon. The big cases like political assassinations even generated entire cottage industries with very dangerous career options. Even in our own time, the events of September 11, 2001, brought the philosophy of food defense back into discussion as an intensified concern. By now, thousands of scenarios have been imagined and scrutinized for viability. Responsive defense objectives have been planned and developed. In a world such as the one we live in, agricultural terrorism becomes just one on a long list of many possibilities.

And then there's industrial manipulation, a whole other type of food defense which is why we have so called 'health food' stores and buying co-ops protecting us from all sorts of bio-tampering ventures, like genetic engineering, pesticide spraying and chemical fertilization.

And then even closer to home, in a world not as crazy as our national and global scenes, in a world defined perhaps by our own gardens and pantries, there are other types of food defense scenarios we face. Based on factors that emerge for less insane reasons, to be sure, in our everyday reality, we constantly protect crops and other food sources from a variety of threats, like contamination by rodent infestation or fruit and seed pilfering by birds. Even shooing flies off the freshly cut cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and avocados is a form of food defense. From deer fences to cattle guards, even canning is a way of defending food from threats, as in the many microorganisms that would otherwise make the food unfit for intended consumption.

Defensible Vegetable Platter

• 2 freshly picked tomatoes
• small ripe avocados (home grown from California)
• several freshly picked cherry tomatoes
• several freshly picked sweet banana peppers, seeded and sliced
• 1 large freshly picked cucumber, peeled and sliced
• any other freshly picked, raw eating vegetables prepared how you like them

The platter will be absolutely defenseless against one or two of your favorite vegetable dipping sauces.

These home grown avocados were a gift from gardening friends from northeastern California. Here close to the border, reciprocal food sharing across state lines encounters an obstacle, that of the agricultural inspection stations Nevada gardeners encounter at nearly every entrance into California. But gifts and trades move east to west in other ways, especially during canning season.

There is something fascinating about food sharing amongst the humans. Of course, it's an ancient practice, described in detail by the cultural anthropologists. Humans share food in times of plenty, but also in times of extreme scarcity. The trick seems to be the great art of social cohesiveness and commutual respect, even across deep cultural divides. There are descriptions and studies, too, of the many ways in which cultural stability is achieved as well as lost. Much about cultural preservation, of course, centers around agriculture.

But food sharing is a good sign when it comes to prospects of peace amongst the factions. Grapes for avocados Tomatoes for honey. Philosophers bring up questions of balance and reciprocity. It becomes an ethical debate about the dynamics of material exchange and the age old question of payment. Who does the work? Who gets paid? Who gets fed? What is fair?

Guacamole anyone?

• At least two large ripe avocados or several small ones, remove seeds and scoop out flesh.
• One small Walawala onion
• 1/4 sweet red onion
• 1 freshly picked jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup freshly picked cilantro, finely chopped
• a little salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• outer flesh of 1 freshly picked medium sized tomato, cut in small chunks
• 1 freshly picked cucumber, peeled and sliced into rounds

Mix together everything but the cucumber. Serve immediately with chips. Serve the cucumber rounds as an alternative to chips.

It is perhaps unknown to many people that today -- 09 - 09 - 09 -- is World Day of Interconnectedness.

As in the connection one feels toward certain sublime skinnydipping spots, the sense of oneness we feel toward a place, toward something, anything, anyone, translates into the actions we decide upon which actually define our lives. The goal is to be able to say "Yes" to life, to all that life is and all that temporality brings to the embodied self. Of course, this intricate connection inevitably and inexplicably includes days of ice and wind and even the occasional all-consuming wildfire. In the end, even when there might be reason to become angry at life, affirmation always feels better, more healthy, more fulfilling, more wise, less bitter, less aggressive, less grouchy. This sense of interconnectedness also makes good ecological and social sense. It is a relational philosophy that engenders respect and through respect, a stance of protection and care.

So we celebrate because 090909 is as good a day as any to acknowledge and thereby promote the interconnectedness we enjoy or endure and depend upon every split second of our lifelong journey towards death.

If that doesn't work, here's another reason to take a day off in the middle of the week: The schools are back in session, most of the tourists have gone home and the weather is perfect. What better day than today for posting that "Gone Gardening" sign on the door...

With the lingering perfect weather this summer, you might want to fertilize annuals one more time. Who knows, we might be in for warm days lasting well into October.

Hopefully, too, the warm days and mild nights will continue long enough to allow many green tomatoes on the vine to ripen. For many, the tomato plants were slow to produce, but are now loaded with still green tomatoes.

Other nightshades are doing well this summer, too. Several varieties of eggplant are showing beautiful, deep green foliage with little insect damage. And the plants are sagging, full of eatable fruit. As was planned, there are five different types of eggplant ready and waiting for the roasting flames.

Delightful also this year are the cucumber vines. They've been very productive, although now winding down. This season the long vines were prodded to wind their way through the tomato support poles. That way, here and there the hanging cucumbers added variety to the tomato and eggplant shapes. The cucumbers have been sweet, juicy and delicious this season.

Of course, don't forget that your perennials might need some fertilizer in the weeks to come.

Who said you can't grow excellent cabbage in Reno? This beauty was harvested for the Labor Day holiday weekend. It was grown without chemical pesticides or chemical fertilizers in a raised bed in Reno's famed 'Banana Belt' with morning and early to mid-afternoon sun. The soil was prepared with last year's potting soil, a really good crop of humus from the family compost bin, a good dose of organic chicken manure, and a once a month dry or tea feeding with a high grade, organic vegetable fertilizer.

The cool, wet spring seems to have been very conducive to growing cool weather vegetables this season. This box produced beautiful patchs of Collard Greens, Purple Kale, Leeks and Walawala Onions.

Plants that did not do well in this particular box this season were tomatoes, eggplant, pumpkin, and beans. In past years those plant types have done very well in this space.

Autumn plans are already set for greatly improving the soil of this box for next year's use.

Dishes prepared from this single cabbage plant:

• Magic Vegetable Soup Stock
• Cabbage Leaves Stuffed with Turkey, Fresh Herbs and Organic Quinoa
• Bob's Spicy Coleslaw (Mayonnaise free)
• Steamed Cabbage with Fennel Seeds and Butter

As far as insects are concerned, this cabbage was relatively free from pest damage. There were a few holes in the outeer leaves, but not many. Also found were two small happy and healthy slugs tucked down in the outer leaves of the head. The slugs were served with a fresh lemon side, but there were no takers. Finally, we found a small, disoriented earthworm inside the head. The small earthworm was celebrated and verbally thanked for helping produce such fine humus, then promptly returned to its compost home with a cabbage leaf to eat and lounge on.

The art of growing plants in containers is ancient, nearly as old as the invention of pottery itself. At first, growing in containers was most likely practical in nature, but certain cultures -- Egypt, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand -- began to develop the practice for aesthetic reasons.

Bonsai as an art form usually centers around the practice of growing trees in miniture form, using in shallow containers and maintained with tools to fashion and maintain the plant as a miniture form of itself. The goal for growing trees as Bonsai plants is to train the tree to look old, but if grown correctly, the plants can, indeed, grow to be quite old, lasting for generations. In fact, the oldest known Bonsai tree is a pine that is soon to be 500 years old!

Bonsai pots are most notible for their shallow depth. They can be used for growing other types of minitures besides trees. The cactus in this picture is just a sprout, but its shallow root system will allow a shallow container. It will be interesting to see if the shallow depth of the container will inhibit the growth of the cactus over time.

Rather than start from seed, many Bonsai enthusiasts look for small nursery stock for starter plants. This way one can choose plants that show characteristics that suggest the desired shape and age. Dry Creek carries several types of miniture trees.

This summer the deck has 22 tomato plants growing among cucumbers and several types of peppers. Four tomato plants are experimental heirloom tomatoes, planted from Dry Creek starts in May. They have developed mostly large tomatoes, some ripening last month, but most just now beginning to show color. Also on the deck are seven Cherry Tomatoes grown from organic seed. The cherry tomatoes are now rapidly turning red. Ten more containers hold the mighty Big Beef and Beefsteak plants.

But this year, there's only one container that's home to a Patio Tomato (pictured).

In a way, growing tomatoes in Northwestern Nevada is always an experimental venture. This is so because it's fairly impossible to predict how the weather will fare each season. We never know if the season will be long or short and whether the springtime months will be sunny and warm or cold and gray.

But while some tomato plants will be intimidated by our local weather patterns, the lowly Patio Tomato is usually certain to come through with results. They usually begin producing fruit in early June, offering daily ripeness by late June. The tomato size is just right for a variety of uses. Not overly huge like the Big Beef and Beefsteak, but not tiny like a cherry, the Patio Tomato offers a perfect size for quartering for salads and vegetable platters. Their flesh lends itself to chopping and pureeing for sauces, providing flavor on the good side of delicious. The plant is bush-like, staying compact often without the need for extensive caging. For this reason, alone, they are exceptionally suited to containers.

One word of cautionary reminder: when harvesting the apples, if you use a ladder to climb up high enough to fall on your butt, be sure to have someone hold the ladder for you. You don't want to be eating your pie in a leg or neck brace.

Bob's Apple Compote

Peel the apples whole and put them in a large pot of cold water with a little organic lemon juice to keep the apples from browning during prep. Take the apples from the pot of water, cut them in half and remove anything that isn't appetizing, such as the core and blemished spots.

Cut up the apples, reserving two cups in large chunks, two cups thinly sliced, and two cups finely chopped. Put all three types of prepped apples into a large sauce pan. Sweeten to taste; we added a 1/4 cup of organic brown sugar and a 1/4 cup turbinado sugar. Then add a tablespoon of organic lemon juice and a tablespoon of filtered water. For spice, add a 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg. Finally, add two tablespoons butter and a tablespoon instant tapioca.

Gently mix all the ingredients, then heat to bubbling. Reduce heat and stir in 1/4 cut chopped walnuts or pecans; your choice. Cover and simmer -- stirring occasionally -- for 45 minutes or until the larger apple chunks are cooked through and soft. According to the juiciness of the apples, you might need to add tiny bit of water, but do so only if necessary.

Serve warm, by itself or as a topping for vanilla ice cream, or spoon over sweet dumplings, biscuits or cake. This compote is also great as filling for pies and cobblers.

There are many ways to cook with rose pedals. Here's an easy and delicious way to prepare a spread for morning toast:

Rose Pedal Butter

Take a cup of unsalted butter from the fridge, unwrap it, place the sticks in a glass bowl. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until soft. Harvest several fresh, fragrant roses from your chemical and pesticide free rose bushes. Collect enough to make a packed cup of pedals. Finely chop the pedals, then, using a wooden spoon, mix in with the softened butter. If on hand, add a half teaspoon rose water to the butter / rose mixture.

While still soft, using a floret tip, pipe the butter onto a piece of waxed paper placed on a firm baking sheet or plate, creating little individual servings that resemble flowers. Serve with toast points or warm coffee cake. Place the remaining butter florets in the refrigerator. They will firm up and last for several days.

Two years ago several theories debating the cause of the die-off emerged. Is it manipulation of DNA to produce bees more interested in pollinating plants than making honey? Is it new chemicals meant to pollinate plants without the help of bees? Is it new and more deadly pesticides for farms and gardens? Is it the invasion of new parasites as well as the chemicals used to fight the parasites? Is it a virus? Is it the 30 year drought? Global warming? Is it confusion and bewilderment produced by continual shipping from place to place? Is it radiation produced by the ever increasing number of cell phone towers?

From gay marriage to the coming apocalypse, other not so very scientific theories were discussed as well. Still, the question of chemicals returned to the center of conversation more than once. As we sipped our summer cocktails, someone suggested that a pesticide- and chemical-free garden would be a godsend for the troubled bees. "Like an island in a sea of poison. If only we could convince enough people to stop using harmful chemicals, the island could grow." A retort was inevitable: "But, what if chemicals and poisons aren't the only problems? What if it's a disease produced by an accumulation of conditions? No one knows where to begin." A very reasonable suggestion was returned: "Well, maybe we should begin eliminating those conditions one by one. We can start with what we ourselves can control, start with the chemicals closest to us."

Divine Peaches

You don't need a whole lot of ingredients for this incredible dessert. It's versatile, as well. You can use it as a sauce for ice cream, or pour it over a lemon pound cake fresh out of the oven, or simply dish it up in dessert bowls with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.

Ingredients

• 2 or 3 cups of fresh organic peaches, ripe off the tree.
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup organic turbinado sugar.
• 1/2 cup pure cranberry juice (not cranberry juice cocktail).
• 1 or 2 tablespoons organic lemon juice.
• 2 tablespoons instant uncooked tapioca.
• 1/2 cup pecan or walnut halves.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Poach the peaches ever so slightly so as to remove the skins. Remove the pits, too, of course. Let the poaching water cool down, then feed it to your earthworms; they will love you for it. Mix the peaches with the sugar and cranberry juice in a medium sized saucepan. Cook and stir until the mixture begins to bubble. Lower the heat, add the tapioca, pecans or walnuts or a mixture of both, and lemon juice. Simmer for a few minutes, just until it begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Serve warm, if possible, but it's delicious the next day over waffles or pancakes.

Like almost all ice plant, this one requires excellent drainage and not too much water. Drought tolerant, it grows to a height of four to six inches and will spread into a nice circle about a foot in diameter. Even though cold hardy, in our climate, the plant will most likely die back for the coldest part of the winter, but don't forget it's there, because it will probably come back in the spring to offer another year of beauty.

Ice plant is a good choice for rock gardens, container arrangements, and along the front edge of borders.

Yarrow comes in a variety of colors, from pure white to yellow, to pink and deep purple-red. The plants are amazing in that their blooms last for months, the plant will grow in just about any soil, they are very drought tolerant, and they can all but be forgotten and yet still thrive. But perhaps what is most incredible about Yarrow is that the flower stalks can tell the future.

It's true, the dried flower stems of Achillea Millefolium have been used for centuries as tools for consulting the oracle of the I Ching, what some say is the oldest and wisest book in the history of human culture. How the oracle works is anyone's guess, nevertheless, the ritual is fascinating and some say, curiously accurate in its telling. In any case, Yarrow is easy to grow, beautiful to look at and it smells sweet.

In western traditions, it is said that the reason why the botanical name references Achilles is because the Greeks used Yarrow medicinally to stop wounds from bleeding on the battlefield.

Reno and the rest of northern Nevada is part of the Monarch Butterfly's migratory route. Back in the day when Milkweed was plentiful and pesticides scarce, millions of Monarch butterflies would pass through on their long journey to Canada from Mexico. But their numbers have greatly diminished and are dwindling still.

It's easy to make your garden Monarch Butterfly friendly. If you plant perennials that bloom in August, you'll easily attract the adults, as they enjoy the late summer flowering plants, like this beautiful, long lasting Gay Feather. But if you really want your garden to be Monarch friendly, you'll want to plant some Milkweed because the Monarch actually depends upon Milkweed to survive. Why? Because Milkweed is the only known plant the butterfly uses to nurture and feed its young.

We have a page devoted to the Monarch Butterfly. Check it out.

The flowering stage is continuous with flowers lasting a long time. The plant resembles wild meadow flowers and thus is a perfect choice for mass plantings. The bright white flowers are "self cleaning" which means they do not brown or fade as they age. They do very well in containers, especially as an accent for other colorful flowers. Just make sure they get watered as they like a well drained, but moist soil.

The reason the plant is called "obedient" is that the flower tips can be gently bent and they will stay that way. They are friendly in other ways, too: they make excellent cut flowers, butterflies love them, and yet they are rabbit, squirrel and deer resistant.

One of the more interesting attachments to white lilies is from ancient Spain where it was long ago believed that the taste or even the smell of the delicately scented pedals of the white lily would relieve and even reverse the curses received from enemy spirits that might ravege the soul with the violence of mindless rage.

The flower also signifies the passing of time that we humans experience whether we like it or not -- that incredible, often times unnerving awareness we have of our own being-towards-death.

White Lily

What Fassbinder film is it?
The one-armed man walks into a flower shop
And says: What flower expresses
Days go by
And they just keep going by endlessly
Pulling you Into the future
Days go by
Endlessly
Endlessly pulling you
Into the future?
And the florist says: White Lily.

Laurie Anderson ("White Lily" from the film, Home of the Brave)

Squash and pumpkins can do quite well in Reno, too, and one or two plants can be enough to provide plenty of flowers for delicious meals.

Whether Italian, Mexican, Thai or simply experimental, there are a thousand ways to prepare summer squash blossom treats:

• Put them on Pizza hot out of the oven.
• Put them on Quesadillas on top of melted white chedder.
• Grill them lightly, then serve them with corn on the cob sprinkled with a little cumin.
• Batter them and fry them like the Italians love to do.
• Put them in salads with a nice fat free sweet fig dressing.
• Coat them with flour, pan fry and serve with your favorite hot pepper sauce.
• Batter them, fry them and serve them with spicy fish sauce and white rice.

Even if you didn't have room in your garden for a squash plant, next year you can easily grow one in a pot on your patio. That way you'll have plenty of squash blossoms to experiment with.

Another interesting thing about this beautiful little geranium is that it might be a natural cure for the common cold. In 2007, the National Center for Biotechnology Information reported on "a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial" which tested over one hundred men and women with cold symptoms. Randomly, patients were given either a placebo or a liquid herbal drug preparation made from the roots of pelargonium sidoides. The study concludes:

[The herbal drug] represents an effective treatment of the common cold. It significantly reduces the severity of symptoms and shortens the duration of the common cold compared with placebo.

Come to find out, the plant has been used as a medicine for centuries by the Zulu and several other African cultures, not only for curing colds, but for treating other more sever lung ailments, like bronchitis, sinus infections, and even pneumonia. (Of course, we do not recommend you try this at home.)

Remember: if you plant pelargonium sidoides in the ground, don't expect it to come back next year, although it might return, especially if it's in a protected place. Just don't count on it. It's worth growing, though, both for its beautifully textured silver leaves and for its unusual dainty deep purple flowers.

This older apple tree is a member of a small backyard orchard in the old southwest section of Reno. The orchard consists of two apple and two pear trees. They all produce an abundance of fruit each year -- enough for all the autumn holiday feasts and a winter's worth of canning, not only for the family that tends the trees, but for all their neighbors as well. Especially this year.

When planning a backyard orchard, it's fun to choose several types of apple trees -- one or two for sweet, juicy apple-a-day snacking, at least one tart and firm for baking the Thanksgiving pies. All do well for making cider, jelly and sauce.

Apple and other fruit trees can be planted pretty much anytime the ground is workable. It's good to prepare the soil. Come in and see our selection of apple and other fruit bearing trees, and talk to us about setting up your backyard orchard.

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) was introduced into the western United States as a food for livestock foraging on arid lands, such as the Great Basin Desert. It quickly proved to be a huge mistake, not only because the time frame for eating by cattle and sheep herds was so limited (after a short stretch in early spring, the grass becomes inedible), but also because the grass quickly invaded both the old growth Pinon Pine / Juniper forest and Big Sage desert ecosystems with exceptionally disastrous effects.

According to Peter Weisberg of the Online Nevada Encyclopedia, once introduced, the big problem with cheatgrass is this:

Cheatgrass is able to alter natural fire conditions through its particular life history characteristics. Cheatgrass has a winter annual life cycle that differs from that of most native grasses. Seeds germinate in fall or early winter so that established plants grow rapidly in early spring as a result of their head start. Abundant seeds are produced and the plant's life cycle is completed in early summer, while native bunchgrasses are still green and not yet reproductively mature. Dry, dead cheatgrass burns readily and produces a continuous layer of fuel to carry range fires. The resulting fires put native vegetation at a disadvantage because many species have not yet set seed. A positive feedback loop is created; with each successive fire, cheatgrass becomes more dominant.

The 'Hen' only flowers once, but by the time it does, the plant will have produced a nice brood of chicks to fill its space in the garden.

In our area, this mat forming succulent likes to have a little shade in the hottest part of the afternoon, but will grow most anywhere. It's somewhat drought tolerant, but does enjoy a good drink from time to time. They are a good choice for rock gardens and over time will spread out as much as two feet from a single planting. They also do well in containers.

When you notice the center of the Hen begin to protrude, know that it's beginning to flower. And know, too, that it's time to celebrate its flowering as a reminder of how precious life is, always giving way to each new generation.

Hen and Chicks (Sempervivum tectorum) have a long history in Europe as a companion plant, especially grown on tops of houses to help thwart lightning fire damage on dry thatched roofs. Perhaps we could learn from this, as it is truly a fire resistant plant.

Interestingly, ancient Roman philosophers and religious thinkers used the term, pulvinus, to describe "a cushioned couch kept in readiness for any visitation of a god." For the sunflower -- and for those who do believe in the secret life of plants -- that god would be the Sun.

Every time we see a dragonfly we should thank it for the work it does keeping us safe. They love to dine on mosquito larvae and they catch house flies and horse flies in midair.

In our day and age, the largest dragonflies grow to 4 or 5 inches, but these amazing insects have ancestors dating back millions of years. Back then they were huge. In fact, they win the prize for being the largest flying insect ever for the planet earth, reaching up to nearly three feet across! It makes you wonder just how big the misquotes were back then.

Some dragonflies also live for a surprisingly long time. If they are lucky enough to avoid pesticides and water pollution, some species can live for over half a decade.

If you have a pond in your yard, it's a good idea to keep the water pesticide and chemical free, not only for the occasional Western Toads and Spadefoot Toads that might happen by for a summer evening visit, but also for this amazingly beautiful, non-biting insect that does such good work.

The research from UNR concludes that Reno (and Fallon) show great potential for growing wine grapes, especially with certain drought resistant varieties. Concerning production, the UNR study found that Chardonnay grapes had the highest yield due to less winter die-back, although Chardonnay vines were found to be susceptible to spring frost because they bud earlier than other varieties. Muscat Blanc and Muller Thurgau were the least productive.

Nectarine and other stone fruit trees react well to heavy pruning, usually in March (put the date on your gardening planner for next year). Pruning produces new fruiting wood. They need lots of sun, well drained soil and periodic deep watering. You don't want the deep roots to dry out, especially during fruit production.

This tree is a dwarf variety which is great because pruning is easy and the trees can produce an abundance of full-sized fruit. Dwarf trees also seem to produce fruit at a younger age, but they are more likely to need support for their heavy branches than regular-sized trees.

So don't eat it!

Viewed from a distance, though, this wide spreading, night blooming perennial is a desert beauty to behold. Often seen on roadsides where their roots catch the runoff from an occasional rainstorm, the Datura is pollinated mainly by the Sphinx Moth, which in its caterpillar stage, loves to dine on another favorite nightshade, the tomato.

Remember, if you are new to desert living, you should know that native desert dwellers are taught from the earliest age to always enjoy Datura from a distance. Good advice, as the name 'Datura' is said to come from Sanskrit, meaning "the eternal substance (as in not of this embodied world) of the gods," or as one close to Hinduism might suggest: "The Call of Yama, the god of death."

Horned Lizards usually do not bite and are in fact, quite gentle, although they do not like to be picked up or harassed. They have a strange defense mechanism where, if abused, they can squirt blood from their eyes.

The Horned Lizard dines almost exclusively on ants! When hungry, they typically search out an ant hill, sit quietly waiting for the ants to approach, then snatch them one by one with their long, sticky tongues.

The Horned Lizard is an unfortunate victim of the pet trade. Sometimes, even as far away as the east coast of the US and beyond, they can be found in pet shops, thrown in with other exotic lizards, given crickets to eat. But they don't eat crickets and the particular ants upon which the Horned Lizards feed are not sold in pet shops. And so, these awe inspiring creatures typically starve to death within a matter of weeks or months after capture.

Tiny Game Hunting: Environmentally Healthy Ways to Trap and Kill the Pests in Your House and Garden

For example, did you know that there are over 8,800 ant species worldwide? And did you know that ants "along with termites" are the dominant insect species on the planet? "In terms of sheer biomass, ants...not only outnumber us; they outweigh us."

The authors go on to say:

Besides being utterly impossible, it would be foolish to attempt to eliminate all your ants, because in many ways ants are our friends and allies, and we need them. In China, ants have been used for thousands of years to help control pests in orchards, making them the first insects known to be used for biological control. Ants actually help control pests that we haven't always been very successful controlling on our own. Both indoors and out, they eat the eggs and larvae of fleas, flies, spiders, bed bugs, and probably silverfish and clothes moths. They also go after cockroaches and conenose bugs. In addition, ants patrol the perimeters of our houses and keep termites, their mortal enemies, from establishing colonies in our homes. If we let them do their job, that is.

Certainly, there's a strategy that goes with planting perennials. Since most do not bloom throughout the growing season, gardeners will often plan their plots around the blooming timetables of various species. The secret is to plant a wide variety of plants so that different flowers will appear at different times. This creates a garden that conjures a spectrum of different moods as the season develops.

Another advantage to perennials is that once you get them well established and happy in their living space, they will come back year after year, returning like old friends.

It's true, though, perennials require a certain mindfulness. That is, you need to remember where they've been planted since many die back completely as winter approaches. For this reason, experienced perennial gardeners keep a garden diary or garden map.

Early this spring the nursery had sets of Walla Walla sweet onions for sale (50 per set). They went into the ground in late April. Now they are ready to begin pulling. Begin by thinning. This onion went into a barbaque sauce flavored with dark roasted chili peppers, hot dried pepper flakes and Asian Five Spice. The sauce was drizzled over grilled chicken strips. Freshly picked and sauteed Kale was served as a side dish with dill onion rye bread hot out of the oven. The rye bread recipe called for dried onion, but the Walla Walla onion greens were used instead to excellent results.

The people of Walla Walla, Washington, each year honor the Walla Walla onion with the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Festival. This year will the the 29th year of the festival, but growing sweet onions in Washington has been a tradition for over a century. According to sweetonions.org, this delicious onion was the result of several generations' effort in selective cultivation.

Even though regular onions are plentiful in supermarkets and grocery stores, rarely do you find Walla Walla sweet onions available locally. If you didn't plant any Walla Walla sweet onions this year, put it on your list for next year's vegetable garden. Dry Creek usually carries Walla Walla onions each spring. Supplies are always limited and they go fast because they are exceptional onions, both in flavor, color, shape and ease of growing.

This weekend is predicting higher temperatures again, so be sure to keep an eye on your tomatoes. They, like almost all edible nightshades, like deep watering. And especially watch your container tomatoes; the winds we've been having dry out those ceramic pots, especially the unglazed terracotta.

This vision of nature is of its geometric rigidity. Or is that fluidity? Such a vision infused early modern thinkers to imagine a much more powerful language than the merely human, a more perfect and fundamental intentionality exhibited in the way nature appears. It is then this presence of the flower enjoyed and contemplated by the human observer that allows the moment an investment in meaning and definition. The vision of the flower then is able to become such things as a symbol of love or a message from the gods.

If the Sea Holly flower is a message from the gods, it says: logic, fractal logic that for some imparts through the vision a tinge of joy and aesthetic pleasure. But times past and even now, to those so mystically inclined, the bushes and the trees and the flowers speak! They speak in a fractal language that seems to relay a message, however undecipherable. Of course, to entertain that thought is like Alice down the rabbit hole. Such speculation by a species that still howls at the moon easily becomes the stuff that myths and metaphysical speculations are made of.

Today we have both Blue and White Sea Holly. Supplies are limited.

Today our country marks its two hundred and thirty third birthday. In some ways, two hundred and thirty three years seems like a very long time, especially in comparison to the surprisingly short life expectancy of its citizens. A mere eleven generations ago, more or less...

In perspective: consider a particular Sequoia tree (Sequoiadendron giganteum) living not far from Reno, patriotically named, General Sherman. This mighty conifer is thought to be some 2700 years old, a plant, still living, eleven times older than our nation. Or consider another living neighbor, Methuselah, the oldest known living Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva), whose germination is now estimated to have been 2832 years before the birth of Christianity. (An even older Bristlecone, named Prometheus, was cut down in Nevada, on Wheeler Peak in 1964, ironically, to see how old it was. Not until the tree had been killed was it discovered to be the oldest known Bristlecone in the world, its rings revealing 4,844 years.) Or consider the clonal creosote rings of the Mojave desert just to our south: the oldest rings have been forming since the last ice age, some 11,000 years ago. And consider Pando, the Quacking Aspen in Utah (Populus tremuloides) whose root system is estimated to be up to 80,000 years old!

What can we learn from all these old timers in a country so young?

In a month the mantis has at least tripled its size. And just this week its color has turned from tan to green.

Each spring we supply Praying Mantis pods which when placed in the garden and allowed to hatch, will produce a good number that will reduce down to a few for a backyard delight.

If you have praying mantids as garden dwellers, remember that mantids are extremely susceptible to even the mildest of chemicals. Garden chemicals and sprays are poisonous to mantids (as well as many small song birds, bees, butterflys, hummingbirds, etc.). The rule is: If you want to have mantids and other wild wonders in your garden, just say no to chemicals.

• See more about the Praying Mantis.

This prickly pear is a heritage cactus from Humboldt County, California. For many years, it lived in a container on the porch of a house less than a mile from the ocean in the north coast town of McKinleyville, CA, until it was brought over to Reno as a gift. For several years, it was assumed that since the cactus had been growing in the mild, wet climate of the north coast, it would need to be brought indoors each year before the killing frost. One year, as an experiment, a cutting of the cactus was left outside. This led to the discovery that this fleshy, soft green cactus does indeed take the cold Reno winters, no problem.

It takes a certain interest, but growing cactus plants can be incredibly rewarding as they are strange and amazingly varied and surprisingly easy to take care of. We carry hardy cactus that thrive outdoors in our part of the world. Come in and see our selection.

If you find the tape too tight, as it is in this photo, you can replace it with new tape, or if the tree is now well trained and strong enough to stand up on its own, you can remove the tape and the support pole all together.

Many young trees are planted such that they are susceptible to wind. In such cases, support is often needed. But, if your tree is protected from the wind, support might be unnecessary.

If you are planning on planting trees, come talk to us.

Gaillardia pulchella (Blanket Flower or Indian Blanket Flower) is a favorite amongst xeric gardeners as the plant is drought resistant, easy to grow from seed, and it produces a nice sized, beautiful flower. This plant also blooms late, usually mid-June, and blooms constantly throughout the summer into the fall.

Blanket Flower will self-seed, too, but is also easy to control. Gardeners and landscapers often grow Blanket Flowers in mass, for the wild field or meadow effect.

We sell Blanket Flower seeds and starter plants. Supplies are limited. Stop in to our nursery and see what what we have today.

It is easy to grow Ratibida Columnaris from seed. To get a jump start, you can sprout the seeds indoors early March. By May they should transplant easily.

Like many wildflowers, Ratibida Columnaris demands full sun and enjoys hot, dry, south facing locations. Truly a xeric plant without a need for excessive water or rich soil. This wildflower also attracts butterflies and blooms well after many wildflowers have withered and died. The flowers are good for cutting, too, and will last a week in a vase of water.

We carry Ratibida Columnaris seeds, but quantities are limited. We carry many native wildflower seeds in single specie packets or mixed. Come in and see our unique selection.

This red yucca is now in bloom. The flower is from an eight year old plant. This year it has sent up seven, 4' tall flower stalks. Its biggest production was nine stalks a few years back after a Truckee River flooding winter in Reno. Our recent spring had good water so seven stalks is expected.

This beautiful yucca enjoys a well drained soil in a sunny location, preferably with a southern exposure. When young, it transplants easily and is perfect for rock gardens and xeric landscapes. It also works well as a bush, offering an interesting contrast to an otherwise conventional garden layout.

Certainly, if you like the desert look, this yucca, with its long lasting flowers in the summer and its interesting foliage in the winter snow, will give you enjoyment for years to come.

We have several varieties of yucca, euphorbias and cacti. Come in and see what we have.

Some gardeners prefer the Black Hollyhock flower because of its strange deep red-wine shadows. The flower, some say, compensates for the so-called "weed-like" appearance of the foliage. Other gardeners love the foliage, taking the Hollyhock for all that it is.

This particular flower began opening today. Once a single stalk, now spread to five tall stocks covered with buds, this Hollyhock adds interest to a retaining wall, poised to offer many days of new summertime blooms.

This particular plant had its first home away from the nursery on a slope facing south with a full day of hot and dry exposure. It became obvious the first season that the plant would enjoy life some place else. Next year, the plant was relocated to a full morning sun spot against a retaining wall on the western edge of the property. Enjoying its third season in this spot, the Hollyhock has done much better, filling in a four foot swath. Here, though, it's obvious the plant would like more sun. It now gets more water and is cooler, but it wants more sun. Nonetheless, it does get along quite well without a full day's sun, even though perhaps the plant is a bit taller and the leaves more sparse than they might be otherwise.

The Black Hollyhock will most certainly give your garden party guests something to admire, enjoy and chat about.

We've had an incredible spring this year here in northern Nevada with plenty of rain and cool weather for growing our springtime vegetables like peas, spinach and the various lettuces. For the garden peas, the pods ripen up the plant. For edible-pod peas, you can eat them at any time before the peas even begin to ripen.

If you've never grown peas -- either garden peas or edible-pod peas -- when picking pods from the plant, be sure to use both hands when detaching the pod: hold the stem with one hand, pull the pod off with the other. If you don't support the stem with your hand, you can easily pull the entire plant out of the ground. Unless this is what you intend, as by the last harvest, it's easiest to simply uproot the entire plant. This makes picking easier and also creates space for new, more heat loving plants to grow.

The proud owner of this fine, potted Beaver Tail Cactus was so happy this spectacular flower opened on the first day of summer. "That it just so happened to bloom on the first day of summer," he said, "after all the hootin' and hollerin' we did on the solstice, just makes me happy."

This particular specimen lives in a medium sized, 14 inch clay pot on a ledge that gets only morning sun. Due to the sun limitation, this plant didn't produce an abundance of flowers like others in the ground just feet away, around the corner on a south slope. In fact, this flower is the only flower it produced this year, and it's perched on the furthest branch towards the sun.

Once established, this hardy cactus will propagate easily by clipping. Wearing garden gloves, simply snip an entire branch (a single 'beaver tail'), let it harden for a day or so in the shade without soil, then plant it in a porous planting medium made especially for growing cactus. If you're going to plant it in the ground, make sure the soil is well drained, not clay. Cactus will drown if they sit in soggy soil. If the soil tends towards clay, don't try to mend the problem by adding pure sand. Instead, dig out a space large enough to completely replace the clay. Brew up a nice recipe for an average, sandy soil; replace the old clay with your new Cactus Delight, a soil especially delicious to Beaver Tail (and other cacti). They will pay you back with flowers like this!

In the spirit of Wikipedia, we conjure up the past to speak about an event that our myopic post-postmodern society typically shields us from experiencing: The solstitium, the sun's momentary standstill.

The ancient philosopher, natural historian and astronomer, Pliny, wrote about the solstitium in his now famous work, Natural History. The word literally means 'The sun stands still' and from a certain perspective, maybe from a geocentric, existential phenomenological perspective, perhaps it's true.

Now, Pliny was a citizen of the ancient Roman Empire where their philosophers were known to stare at the sun, but for gardeners all over the northern half of the globe, today is a major day of celebration, full of water witching festivals, bonfires and barbecues, the harvesting and perhaps most telling: the venerated feasting on the last of the cool weather, springtime vegetables.

Most of us no longer look at the sun, at least not directly in the eye. But we still turn to the sun for its power to make us happy. As with many traditions dating back to the first cultures, we learn a few things, one being how to grow food enough for feasting. To which we celebrate each year, the "return of the sun" full of promise that all our warm days will be filled with happy, productive plants leaving humans with much time and health for singing, reveling and all types of dancing.

Happy Summer Solstice!