Buzz and Sue’s front lawn in Auburn was using too much water so they asked me to replace it with perennials, grasses and shrubs. This is a chronology of the job: The lawn had 2 trees which were going to be left but pruned. The lawn was sprayed to kill the Bermuda Grass. The dead…

We don’t get much snow at Dawn Gardens since the elevation is only 1300′. But this year we got a little snow – just enough to bring winter beauty to the garden but not enough to cause damage. Here are a couple of videos taken on golf cart rides through the garden: The Camellia garden…

Salvias are a group of plants that are free blooming and are tolerant to heat. Mexican Sage (Salvia leucantha) Midnight Sage (Salvia leucantha ‘Midnight’) Salvia leucantha ‘Santa Barbara’ is a dwarf variety. Salvia leucantha ‘Daniell’s Dream’ White Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha ‘White Mischief’) Salvia ‘Indigo Spires’ Salvia ‘Mystic Spires’ Salvia mexicana ‘Limelight’ Salvia ‘Mysty’…

Ground cover plants are very useful in the garden in stopping erosion on slopes, keeping the weeds down and providing a low growing foreground for the garden. Creeping Wire Vine (Muhlenbeckia axillaris) is a low growing mat that spreads by rhizomes and may be deciduous in cold winters. Can be a little invasive. Creeping Mint;…

During the weekend of October 23rd and 24th, 2021, a huge storm came into Northern California and dumped 10″ of rain. With the rain and wind came the destruction of 3 Oak trees, a huge pine branch and a weeping willow at Dawn Gardens. One Oak tree outside the fence fell into another Oak tree…

The term “Japanese Maple” refers to any maple (genus Acer) that is native to Japan. There are 25 species of Acer that are native to Japan but only 3 that are commonly used as garden plants: A. palmatum, A. japonicum, and A. shirasawanum. There are more than 1,000 different varieties of A. palmatum and these…

The Fall color is beautiful this year at Dawn Gardens. It is a little earlier than normal and with 10″ of rain, the colors are bright. Cherry in fruit orchard Sour Wood or Tupelo as it is called in Mississippi (Nyssa sylvatica). The female trees have blue fruit. Eddie’s White Wonder Dogwood in the back…

Today is the last day of the New England Garden Tour and we will visit a private garden in Gloucester, the city of Salem and a Museum in Boston. HILARIE HOLDSWORTH GARDEN Hilarie is a landscape designer with a 3 1/2 acre garden. She and her assistant maintain the garden with some outside help every…

On our way to the garden this is some of the scenery: Along the Maine coast a third of the way to Canada is this huge and beautiful botanical garden. This garden is set on 323 acres and was opened in 2007. There are 12 full time horticulturists (gardeners) with 20-25 garden volunteers. Beautiful flowers…

Today, on the New England garden tour, we are in the Portsmouth area of New Hampshire looking at a huge private garden, a medium sized private garden and an outdoor museum. BEDROCK GARDENS This is a 37 acre garden created by Jill Nooney and her husband, Bob Munger, over the past 40 years. The garden…