Tom’s Garden

Left Coast Gardening

Our garden in the San Francisco Bay Area historically has experienced the wet mild winters and dry mild summers characteristic of Mediterranean climates. It's a modest family garden -- its core was formerly a swimming pool -- so we might grow a single plant or a handful of plants, where a larger-scale operation could do long rows or massive beds. Over time we have adjusted to find the right balance for our garden.

On Top

All this new stuff goes on top
turn it over, turn it over
wait and water down
from the dark bottom
turn it inside out
let it spread through
Sift down even
Watch it sprout.
A mind like compost.

— Gary Snyder

About the Bay

As it's evolved, this site has increasingly focused on vita plantae in the San Francisco Bay Area, so I've rejiggered this blog to reflect that. You will still find plenty of more general posts on life by the bay. Visit the site home or try one of these:

Orientation

Environment

History

Activities

Culture

You can contact me here.

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Month: January 2018

Study View

The small north garden has become a favorite bird habitat. The spiky foreground plants are asparagus ferns. The orange flowers are Iochroma coccinea, beloved of hummingbirds, and perching…

Brugmansia, detail.

Brugmansia ‘Charles Grimaldi’ (Angel’s Trumpet).

White-Crowned Sparrows.

White-Crowned Sparrows

Senecio talinoides, detail.

Senecio talinoides

Brugmansia

The brugmansia is flowering heavily this year.

White-Crowned Sparrow.

Mighty Sparrow

This little guy — a White-Crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii), if I’m not mistaken — appears to think he’s tough. All the birds love the iochroma. Actually, his…