The wreath workshop is just days away.  Master Gardeners have been busy gathering  redwood, rosemary, lavender, Nadine and so much more  greenery for people that attend  to make a wreath of their own design.

Starting in late October-early November the Master Gardeners have been busy cutting drying, and spraying decorations for you to choose from to add to your wreath.  We have agapanthus heads, hydrangea flowers, statice, lavender, pine cones, and so much more (feathers, grass flowers). In addition, participants are welcome to bring any items they have from home that they would like to add to their wreath.  There are assorted colors of ribbon that can be made into bows to complement your wreath .

Food did I mention food?  Yes there will be food  and drinks for you to snack on, as you make your wreath. Complements of the Master Gardeners.

This event is held on the first Saturday of December at the Buck Mansion in Vacaville. Seating is limited to 40. If you have not registered on line this year to attend, it could be to late.  Here is the link http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=9007 Make sure you mark your 2013 calendar in late October or early November to watch for the announcement for 2013 so you don’t miss this fun event next year.

One of the many special joys of gardening is coming face to face with hummingbirds.  I love to watch them sip from flowers or just perch and survey their territory.  That's why Keith and I were thrilled to see a tiny hummingbird sampling the flowers at a flower box at a restaurant in Rudesheim, Germany. He was the tiniest thing we had ever seen.  He was brown and rust and white and hummed and hovered enchantingly.

I vaguely remembered that there was a hummingbird referred to as a bee hummingbird, so that evening I lhit the Internet. No, the bee hummingbird is from Cuba and is a striking blue color which this creature was not.  As I researched I found that there are no hummingbirds in Europe, only the New World. Interestingly about two years ago they did find hummingbird fossils near Frankfurt Germany.  I did find out there was a zoo near Rudesheim that had a hummingbird enclosure; perhaps one had escaped.

Then I found a question to a bird site where someone else had seen a small hummingbird in Germany.  The expert gently suggested that they had perhaps seen a European hummingbird hawk moth, Macroglossum stellatarum.  No Way!  I was a biology major. I'm a Master Gardener for crying out loud. I'm not going to mistake a moth for a bird.  Nevertheless I did Google the European hummingbird hawk moth and sure enough that was exactly what my husband and I saw. The moth flies during the day time, hovers and even has the hummm of the hummingbird. It's incredible. They say it's an example of convergent evolution that they have ended up so similar. Take a look at the pictures that my husband took and see if you would have been fooled too.

It’s such a pleasure spending time in the garden, especially this time of year. Even with our erratic weather, we have color and life everywhere. The garden is abundant with vegetables and flowers. We have been busy the past 2 months harvesting cherries, followed by peaches. A couple of days ago, I pulled the yellow onions, cleaned and trimmed them for storage.  The ‘Big Boy’ and ‘Juliet’ tomatoes are providing us with tomato sandwiches and salads. The zucchini is trying it’s best to hide from our searching eyes. The last one was about a foot long (oops). Eating outdoors just about daily is the best summertime treat and a relaxing way to catch up on our daily activities. Listening to the splashing of our water features, watching the bees and hummingbirds-zipping back and forth. What a treat. The dahlias are blooming in several corners of the yard and these blooms have been cut and placed in a vase gracing our kitchen island. The begonias, in pots and hanging baskets are glorious. As busy as we are each day, enjoying the fruits of our labor, is the best feeling. There is no better time than “the good ole summertime” and right now we’re enjoying every minute of it before it’s over.

Soil texture is an important factor in determining the success of your gardening venture.  Texture is determined  by the proportions of sand, silt, and clay minerals of your soil.  Clay, predominate in this geographic area, is very fine-textured, and referred to as a 'heavy soil'.  Clay has one thousand times more surface area per gram than silt, and almost a million times more surface than course sand. 

Sandy or silt loam is said to be the best soil for home gardening, as this provides a mixture  that retains water and is able to percolate and infiltrate.  Clay can become hard as rock and does not drain well. 

Several things can be done to deal with our clay.  One is to add raised beds to your garden, bringing in good loamy soil from a reputable source, and placing it on top of existing soil, where you want to plant. 

Secondly, you can amend your existing clay soil with organic materials.  Two common methods for doing this are: one, to add compost to soil and work it in.  This is best done with hoes and or shovels, as tilling can destroy living organisms, such as worms, which are most beneficial to the garden.  Severely compacted soil may require tilling.  Of so, till down 10-12" deep.   Allow soil to dry out--two to three days prior to adding amendments.  Remove rocks, roots and debris.  Break up any large clods with a hoe.  Place two to three inches of compost on the area and work in.  Do not do this when the soil is too wet or to dry.  Peat moss would work as an amendment, but is expensive.  Compost and well rotted manure both are organic and ideal for garden plots.   A second method  is to cover the area with 4-6" of rotten hay or straw and let it sit for up to a year, as this will slowly break down the soil.  Easier on the back but takes much more time.

A third approach is to accept the clay and plant items that do well in that texture of soil.  Here is a partial list of some flowers that actually will do fine:  Black-eyed Susan, bluestar, aster, baptisia, coreopsis, purple cone flower, sea holly, perennial geranium, false sunflower, daylily, coral bells, blazing star (great for a butterfly garden), bee balm, Russian sage, yarrow, and switch grass, said to actually thrive in moist or dry clay.

So clay does not have to be a gardener's four letter word like mole, weed, or mold.  Work with it, amend it, accept it.