Talking About Water-Wise Gardening...

I had a great time visiting the A.K. Smiley Library in Redlands on Monday night to talk about the very hot topic of water-wise gardening. I'll next be crossing the bay to talk about it at the Mill Valley Public Library on Saturday, July 25th at 11:00 a.m. Do you have any questions about low-water gardening and coping with the new water restrictions? Let me know!

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Upcoming Garden Talks in Southern California

Hey, SoCal folks! I'm hitting the road and coming south to do two garden talks next week at libraries in Redlands and Moreno Valley. Here are the details:

Monday, July 13th, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Water-Wise Gardening 2.0

As California’s drought drags on, we’re now living under new, much more challenging water restrictions. Come and learn how you can meet the challenges presented by those new restrictions and still keep your garden going. We'll discuss watering techniques, drought-tolerant plants and hydrozoning, lawn alternatives, and more. 

A.K. Smiley Public Library

125 W. Vine Street

Redlands

(909) 798-7565

Tuesday, July 14th, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
California Month-by-Month Gardening

Learn how to plan, plant, care for, water, fertilize and troubleshoot your garden every month of the year.

Moreno Valley Public Library

25480 Alessandro Blvd.

Moreno Valley

(951) 413-3880

The talks are free and I'll have books for sale at the end of each talk.

Hope to see you there!

Photo credit: M Kasahara

Sign Up for "Time in the Garden"

I have long wanted to start a monthly newsletter about gardening but somehow or another, it kept getting moved to the bottom of my to-do list. But no more. This is the month that I'll be launching my newsletter, "Time in the Garden with Claire Splan"! Here's what you'll get if you subscribe:

• A monthly to-do list for your California garden
• Tips on saving time on gardening tasks
• Links to helpful reviews of new gardening products and books
• Recipes for your home-grown fruits and veggies
• News and ideas to try out in your own garden

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California Month-by-Month Gardening Wins Award!

Great news to share! California Month-by-Month Gardening has received a Silver Award in the Garden Writers Association Media Awards Program! Judges said "If I lived in California I'd want this book. I'm not generally a fan of month by month guides, but this one has tons of great information and very useful, and clear, photography" and "Friendly tone. Consistent and easy-to-follow sections." Have you ordered your copy yet?

Water-Wise Gardening 2.0

Bay Area folks: Bring your brown-bag lunch and come join me tomorrow, June 8th, at 12:30 p.m. at the Albany Public Library (1247 Marin Avenue) for a talk on "Water-Wise Gardening 2.0." With the new water restrictions in California, we need to employ every water strategy possible to keep our gardens happy and healthy. A few of the topics I'll cover include mulching, hydrozoning, lawn elimination, and keyhole gardens. Come join us!

Review: Two-Batch Tumbling Composter

For the past few months I've been trying out a new tumbling composting system that cooks compost in two separate batches and eliminates the need for the back-straining task of turning the compost pile with a garden fork. You can read my review of this composter at Gardening Products Review, along with many other helpful reviews of a wide variety of garden products. I suppose any composting system is better than nothing, but is this worth your money? Check out the review to find out!

Managing Time in the Garden

So it's Spring and the weather is gorgeous and yet you're still not finding time to get out in the garden? I get it. Check out this article I wrote for the San Diego Union-Tribune on some tips for managing time in the garden.