Donna Jones

Flowers

A Greenhouse Tour...

Out in the country, along a back road, sits a greenhouse full of lush plants along with myriad colorful plants and vegetables outside. With no big sign out front it would be easy to pass right by…but you’d miss the fun! Come and visit A Better Way Produce

Chickens

Chicken Treats...Grow your Own!

Cooped up in their run all day the girls don’t get much in the way of fresh greens…something that bothered me from the beginning.  Not enough to let them roam my garden and destroy it, but enough to supply greens from the garden and refrigerator on a regular

Flowers

Spring Buds Contest!

Spring is popping out all over! So…..we have two special gifts to give away to two lucky winners, courtesy of Renee’s Garden Seeds! All you have to do is: 1) Go to Renee’s Garden Seeds face book page and “Like” them (you’ll love all the great

Recipes

Great Granola!

I love granola….Well, some granola. I guess I’m picky, but I’m allergic to walnuts, not nuts about raisins, don’t like burnt bits around the edges and like it sweet but not too sweet! And now I’ve found a recipe I just love! It’s takes

Chickens

Dust Bath - A Chicken Party!

The first time I saw “the girls” flapping around in the corner of their run, throwing pine shavings and dirt all over the place, I figured this was the famous dust bath routine.  It was kind of cute how they tossed dirt about with wild abandon…until I realized that’

Garden

Cool Season Planting Time!

A friend recently told me she finally has her raised beds in…..but, what’s next? So, let’s talk about what to do now to have a great spring garden! First, good  soil is the most important thing necessary for a productive garden. Without a good mix, that’s

House Plants

Spring Time Indoors...Tomatoes in a Sunny Window!

Last October I brought a tiny potted cherry tomato indoors to see how it would do…..and, it’s doing well!  The sunny California days that have brought on our drought, also led to tiny tomatoes in my office window. I scrapped off the top 1″ of soil and replaced

Garden

Winter Garden

Not much going on in the winter garden….unless you get out and crawl around checking in and around the plantings! The little bud above  was midway down the stem of a huge hydrangea bush that, without looking close, appeared to be totally dead! Some plants have green leaves peeking

Flowers

Hydrangea Wreath How To!

With an empty spot on the kitchen wall and a huge collection of dried hydrangeas hanging all over the place a hydrangea wreath seemed just the thing.  It’s easy to do and adds a natural and homey touch to your wall…or wherever you decide to hang it! Begin

Chickens

How to Bathe a Chicken....Or, Lily's First Bath!

I’d been checking on Lily for a few days, wondering if I was going to have to do something about her little “fluffy butt” not being so fluffy anymore. As the clumpy mess that didn’t seem to be cleaning itself off during her dust baths began to weigh

Chickens

Chickens...The Great Escape!

The girls have always been skittish, never approached the door of the run and only Lily ever lets me catch her so…..it was quite a shock when Lacy, the barred rock dashed out the door and headed for freedom the other day! Now, you have to understand, I’m

Chickens

Chickens - How to Make Friends with your Flock!

We brought our 4 month old pullets home in August and I started trying to make friends right away…with little reward.  They were so skittish I couldn’t open the door to the run without them jumping all over themselves trying to get away! After reading about how to

Holiday

Happy Thanksgiving!

Vegetables

Burpee Seeds, A wealth of information!

Fall is in full swing and winter is fast approaching. It’s planning time for gardeners!  There are some amazing seed companies out there with catalogs, blogs and videos to help gardeners grow just about anything! While I buy some things from my local big box retailers, others I can

Succulents

Succulent Birdbath!

I have a nice metal bird bath that I repaint every year because it rusts so badly. I thought it would look good with succulents in it…but what to do about the rust? Flex Seal to the rescue! This stuff is great! I cleaned the birdbath and sprayed on

Fall

Fall in the Garden...November

I got home from work an hour early today (exciting because the sun was still out!) and decided to take a quick photo walk around the yard. I love fall in California! Still have flowers blooming, pansies and Alstroemeria and roses…   The lilacs are turning color, adding a nice touch

Succulents

Succulents - Addictive Garden Fun!

OK, I know, I’ve done succulent posts over and over lately. But, they’re addictive! Those cute little 2″ pots for $2. are irresistible! Everywhere you turn there’s a container that seems just perfect!  Since I’ve already shown how to plant them in nearly anything I’ll

Flowers

Crate and Bloom .....Check this Out!

There’s a new service in town, called Crate and Bloom,  that makes it easy for you  to have beautiful plants delivered to anyone you’d like, on a monthly basis. You can help a new gardener to bloom or just brighten a loved ones day!  If my grandmother was

Chickens

Chickens! An Update on "The Girls"!

Well, it’s been 10 weeks since we brought the girls home and they’ve settled in nicely! Lily, the Sex Link, has begun laying an egg almost every day! Lacy, the Barred Rock, shown above with Lily, hasn’t started laying yet and neither has our Golden Laced Wyandotte,

Succulents

Succulent Nursery...Lone Pine in Sebastopol!

How did I miss the fact that there is a great succulent nursery right here in Sonoma County! Lone Pine Nursery in Sebastopol has a nice variety of succulents and containers to plant them in, along with cacti and bonsai. And, it’s a nice trip out into the countryside!

Garden

Fall Garden - Clean up Time!

Fall is here and it’s time to clean up the garden! This weekend I pulled out the zucchini, a dozen ragged statice plants,some overgrown chard and a spent cucumber plant. Once everything is pulled out it’s a great time to add compost to refill your raised beds

Fall

Santa Rosa Pumpkin Patch...fun for Kids...& gardeners!

While the main reason for visiting the pumpkin patch is fun for the kids…one…the Santa Rosa Pumpkin Patch on Stony Point Road, is an awesome place for plant loving gardeners and photographers too! The pumpkin field is great and the sunflower field spectacular! I’ve traveled as far

House Plants

African Violets - How to get many from one!

African violets looks nice and full when you buy them. However, if you leave them that way you’ll soon notice it’s because there are two or more plants in the pot! They grow shoots out the sides and end up all twisted and crooked instead of nice and

Succulents

Succulent Gardens Extravaganza!

I’m becoming a little obsessed with succulents! They offer texture and colors and variety, they’re easy to grow and lend themselves well to arrangements and decor both inside the house and outside in the garden! Though we just visited Succulent Gardens in Castroville, Ca. a few weeks ago,

Succulents

Succulent Designs... Fun with unusual containers!

Succulents just lend themselves to unusual containers with their many colors and textures. From hearts to beads to unfurling blue leaves, they’re fascinating plants! A recent trip to a Healdsburg antique store, Shoffeitt’s, yielded a cool glass container and a wonderful old sifter. ( I actually have an identical