Posted on by tonytomeo · 8 Comments

KPCR Garden Report

Nothing is official yet. I am hopeful, though. I am currently in training to establish a new Garden Report on Pirate Cat Radio KPCR-LP 92.9 FM in Los Gatos, KMRT-LP 101.9 FM in Santa Cruz, KVBE-LP 91.1 in Portland, and online at KPCR.org. For me, it is daunting. However, those training me are confident of my ability. I have no problem talking about horticulture for an hour. My difficulty is operating the necessary electronics. It is not much, and actually looks quite simple. I am just not comfortable with it. I am intent on doing what I must, though. I miss my former Garden Report gardening shows on KSCO 1080 AM in Santa Cruz and KBCZ 89.3 FM in Boulder Creek. Ultimately, I would like to post recordings of the new Garden Report here on the blog, or at least post links to such recordings. I am told that is not difficult to do, if I record the shows, which is apparently standard procedure. I still need to find “intro” music for the beginning and end of each show, but I believe that I have a source for that. Goodness, although I know this should be easy, I am nervous!

Posted on by tonytomeo · 2 Comments

Cutting Back

No, not this sort of cutting back. I will be cutting back on posting to this blog. I realize that I have expressed my intent to do so on several occasions in the past, only to resume my habit of posting daily, but now I am a bit more compelled to comply with these intentions. Although I can technically continue to post daily, some of the writing, which is really what occupies the vast majority of time that is devoted to blogging, will be omitted. My garden column will continue to post in two parts on Mondays and Tuesdays. Old articles from my garden column will likewise continue to post in two parts on Thursdays and Fridays. The garden column articles get written regardless, so may as well appear here like they do in their newspapers. Old articles were already written, so do not necessitate too much effort to recycle them here. Therefore, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays are the only days that I actually write for. I can continue to write for the Horridculture theme, or actually, any random topic for Wednesdays. I can also continue to participate with the Six on Saturday meme for Saturdays, since it involves more illustration than writing, which, as previously mentioned, is what occupies too much time. However, I will discontinue my second posts for Saturdays at noon, which were not very interesting anyway. This should be the last of them. Also, instead of writing posts for Sunday, I should merely post illustrations, without much text, if any, perhaps similar to the Silent Sunday and Wordless Wednesday themes at the blog of Eliza Waters.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 12 Comments

R & R

Rhody in Skooter’s Garden

Rhody is very proficient with Rest & Relaxation. He has been doing quite a bit of it since we left on vacation at midnight last Monday morning. He rode about eight hundred seventy miles mostly on the rear deck so that others on the road with us could observe him doing so. Since arrival in Western Washington, he has been snuggling with others whom he encounters while also engaging in similar activities. This illustrations demonstrates how expertly he engaged in rest & relaxation in Skooter’s Garden.

Although not as proficient as Rhody is, I also have been engaging in a significant rest & relaxation. This is why I have not written as much as I typically write about horticultural topics during the past several days. Although I am aware that I must compose my gardening column by Wednesday, I have deferred most other writing. If it seems otherwise, it is only because my gardening column posts in two sections on both Mondays and Tuesdays, and old articles are recycled for both Thursdays and Fridays. My negligence is more apparent only on Wednesdays and weekends. I should return from vacation on Thursday or Friday, so might resume more typical blogging before too many notice.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 9 Comments

Resolution

I got so much more than blogging going on.

I am not one to make resolutions for a New Year. Such resolutions can be made at any time. Most should probably be made as they become necessary.

I will say though, that in the future, I should post less frequently to this blog than I have been. I mentioned this a few times since I began posting here a few years ago, but never followed through with doing so.

My weekly gardening column posts in two parts, typically for Mondays and Tuesdays. That is really all that is necessary. Old columns also post in two parts, typically on Thursdays and Fridays. I could continue to recycle them, although, because topics are seasonal, the old articles are often redundant to the new articles that post at about the same time.

All other articles that post on other days are quite unnecessary. Horridculture articles that post on Wednesdays involve too much sniveling. Six on Saturday articles that post on Saturdays are fun for me, but lack substance for readers. Random articles that post on Saturdays at noon and Sundays have become somewhat too random and mundane.

Unfortunately, I can not write well with so much else happening. It is a long story, but what it comes down to is that I really should write less than I have been.

Therefore, for the future, I should commit only to posting my weekly gardening articles, from the gardening column, on Mondays and Tuesdays. I will likely continue to post recycled gardening articles for Thursdays and Fridays, even if redundant, only because they are already written. Although I may continue to post articles for Wednesdays and weekends, I may not. If not, this blog will become merely a compilation of the gardening column articles rather than a real blog. Perhaps less will be better.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 2 Comments

Horridculture – Too Busy To Write

The little windmill palm is not so little anymore, and deserves a space in the garden.

It will be a while before I resume blogging as I formerly did, if I resume. I may just continue to share my gardening column here. The situation is too complicated to explain, and too irrelevant to bother with.

So, if I do resume, I hope to write more about my own home garden. I have been negligent in that regard for a few reasons. Firstly, my home garden is not very interesting. I am a nurseryman, so am in the habit of giving away anything in the garden as it becomes appealing. Secondly, my uninteresting home garden has been neglected for too long. I have been too busy with several other obligations that I still can not keep up with. Thirdly, the landscapes where I work part time are far more interesting than what I would grow in my own uninteresting and neglected home garden if it were not so uninteresting and neglected.

In the future, I hope to renovate my home garden and make it more interesting. Seriously, all those interesting species that I bring back but do not give away from Southern California, the Pacific Northwest and even the Phoenix region deserve a comfortable garden in which they can perform as they should. Seven cultivars of banana grow fast! It would be unhealthy for them to remain canned much longer.

Because I know nothing about landscape design, I do not know how to renovate my home garden, but can figure it out as I proceed, even if most of it is as simple and utilitarian as it had formerly been. Palms do not conform to a simply utilitarian garden, so do not leave me much choice about incorporating them as aesthetic elements. It should be fun. At least that is what I continually try to remind myself.

Posted on by tonytomeo

No More Reblogs

My blogging discontinued quite a while ago. Articles from my gardening column still post in two parts on Mondays and Tuesdays, with the primary topics on Mondays, and the featured species on Tuesdays. Older articles still post in the same format on Thursdays and Fridays. These articles are not actually blog posts though. They are gardening column articles.

Originally, my only blogging had been on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays. ‘Horridculture’ topics posted on Wednesdays. ‘Six on Saturday’ contributions posted on Saturday mornings. Random topics posted at noon on Saturdays and on Sunday mornings. Then, with the exception of ‘Six on Saturday’ contributions, all of these blog posts were recycled from earlier posts, so no longer qualified as actual blogging.

Now, as was inevitable, there are no more blog posts to recycle. Articles from my gardening column will continue to post on Mondays and Tuesdays. Older articles from the same column will continue to post on Thursdays and Fridays. I will likely continue to participate in the ‘Six on Saturday’ tradition on Saturday mornings. Otherwise, except for occasional random posts, regularly scheduled but recycled posts for Saturday afternoons, Sundays and Wednesdays will not continue.

In the future, recycled gardening articles may also be omitted, and new gardening articles may not be divided into two sections. If so, intact articles from my gardening column may post only weekly here. After all, the original purpose of this blog was to be another minor venue for the gardening column, . . . and obviously, pictures of Rhody.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 4 Comments

Felton Covered Bridge

Ha! This old article shows how less uptight I was about blogging three years ago.

tonytomeo's avatarTony Tomeo

04Now that I have been watching a few other blogs for three months, I notice that some people write some very interesting or at least entertaining articles about topic that are not directly related to the main topic of their respective blogs. Most are just like old fashioned slide shows (remember those?) with cool pictures from around the neighborhood, travels, home projects, or whatever might be interesting. I have not done this yet; but I happen to have a bit of free time at the moment, so thought that I would post these three pictures of the historic Felton Covered Bridge. Although I am technically from Los Gatos, my home is in the Santa Cruz Mountains between Los Gatos and Felton. I also have history in Felton, since my grandparents and my Pa used to live here.

In an attempt to keep this post relevant to horticulture, I should mention…

View original post 326 more words

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Horticulture – It’s What I do.

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Rhody, . . . because everyone loves Rhody, . . . and this is not about horticulture anyway.

This is not a misspelling of a misspelling. There is no misspelling of “Horticulture” in the title this week. “Horridculture” is typical of my rants on Wednesday. It is not the only deviation from the norm here. I included the contraction of “It’s” in the title. I have been trying to relax my otherwise objectionably uptight writing style; but a contraction in the title still makes me cringe.

“Horridculture – It Is What I Do Not Do.” would be consistent with my style, but silly, and not so relevant to the subject matter. I am a horticulturist, arborist and garden columnist. I enjoy what I do very much, which is why I made a career of it. It is demanding work though, and does not afford much time for blogging. The quality of my blogging is consequently compromised.

I still work as many as three days weekly at a job that was supposed to be temporary two years ago! It is so excellent that I can not bear to leave, although I must eventually do so. It entails the maintenance of many acres of landscapes and forest at a Christian Conference Center. We have been unable to work for the past month, so will be busier than typical as we resume work.

Mondays and Tuesdays are my days for writing my weekly gardening column. I should probably retire from this work, but enjoy it so much, and would prefer to instead expand it into other publications to fill in the gaps between San Francisco and Los Angeles. I do intend to simplify this writing, even if expanding it; so that I can do it all on Mondays like I used to not so long ago.

For more than the past two years, I have not inspected trees or landscapes for other arborists or landscape professions. There just is not sufficient time! I do miss that work, and composing reports for those who dislike writing. (Arborists and landscape professionals who enjoy their trees and landscapes innately dislike writing.) If I ever resume such work, it will be only rarely.

I intend to eventually return to the farm where I belong, and resume production of horticultural commodities. As much as I enjoy the rest of what I do, growing things is what I do naturally. It is why my ‘temporary’ job was supposed to be ‘temporary’ two years ago. It will involve even more demanding work than what I already can not keep up with, but it is what I need to do.

Therefore, I will have even less time to devote to blogging. I intend to continue to post my brief weekly gardening column in two parts on Mondays and Tuesdays, as well as old articles from the same gardening column in two parts on Thursdays and Fridays. I would also like to continue with Six on Saturday and other brief posts for Saturdays at noon, Sundays and Wednesdays.

I write for my gardening column weekly regardless of the blog. Old articles from the column are already written. Only new posts for Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays need to be written separately; so some or all will be omitted if necessary. What I must discontinue now is my involvement with the many compelling blogs that I have been following for the past many months.

I will not stop following any of the blogs that I presently follow. I will just not be able to read all of the posts, or interact with them like I had been. For me, it will be quite a weird adjustment. I feel obligated to read much of what others post into blogs that I follow. If someone puts effort into positing it, then it must be important. I certainly enjoy how others interact with my blog.

I certainly do not want anyone to think that I lost interest in their respective blog. Many of them provide ideas for what I should write about within the context of my own weekly gardening column. Insight into horticulture in other climates, regions and even cultures has been fascinating. This is merely something that I must sacrifice in order to continue on with my own writing.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 7 Comments

Felton League

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When I started posting my weekly gardening articles here, along with a few other odds and ends, I reserved the right to occasionally post articles or information that is not directly related to horticulture. I do not do it often, but I will do it now, in order to briefly explain another blog that I started today.
Felton League
It will feature articles and insight about the distinguished small group of displaced or socially marginalized people and their friends in Felton in California. In other words, it will be about our homeless Community.
In about 2013, at a time when the homeless were more openly persecuted and assaulted, and evenly violently attacked, Felton League began as an informational forum on Facebook. We had been discouraged by the portrayal of the homeless in other so-called ‘community’ groups. Disparaging pictures, often contrived, were shared openly for the amusement of haters. This is common on the pages of our local law enforcement agencies.
Well, that seemed like a good idea. We started sharing pictures of those taking pictures of us, and describing how they stalked us for the sake of taking such pictures. They did not like that, and accused us of stalking, harassment, and all sorts of nonsense. They were also much more careful about how they stalked us.
In fact, the stalking subsided so much shortly after the establishment of Felton League, that the page was almost deleted. Instead, it remained as a Community forum for topics that were of interest to our segment of the Community. It was designed to appeal to less than one percent of the populace, most of whom do not use Facebook, but gained quite a following. There were nearly a hundred followers, but less than a dozen homeless.
That seemed rather odd, especially since a local hate group that specializes in the derision of the homeless, and claiming to represent ‘everyone’ in town, had only about three dozen followers when an associate checked in on them about a month ago. It became obvious that others beyond our Community appreciate the insight.
It is now time to expand Felton League. I hope that this blog makes it more available to a broader audience. I will not post daily. Nor will I discuss certain local events and news that are not directly related to our distinguished small group. As unpleasant as homelessness is, I hope that readers find Felton League to be insightful and perhaps, in some ways, encouraging.
The three men in the pictures above and below are three old friends and members of our Community who have passed away since the establishment of Felton League, and are three of the reasons why I continue to write.

Felton League can be found at feltonleague.com

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Posted on by tonytomeo · 2 Comments

Schedule Adjustment

P80624Something that I neglected to consider about the first year anniversary of this blog is that what was new is now old. The articles from my weekly gardening column that were new when posted last year are now a year old. That necessitates an adjustment to scheduling.
Recent articles get posted on Mondays and Tuesdays. Each article gets split into two separate posts. The first part on Monday is the main article, which is about a specified horticultural topic. The second part on Tuesday is about the featured species. Older articles from the same time a year earlier get posted in the same manner on Thursdays and Fridays. That format worked well until now. Articles that were new in the beginning of September of last year are scheduled to be recycled now, for the beginning of September this year.
Obviously, there is no point in posting the same articles twice. ‘Flowers Might Be Getting Scarce’ and ‘Fernleaf Yarrow’ were already recycled earlier, before I noticed that they were two of the first articles posted a year ago. The simple solution would be to back up a year, to recycle articles from 2016 instead of from 2017. However, those articles were already recycled on Thursdays and Fridays. Therefore, the schedule will be backed up even farther, to recycle articles from the same time in 2015. I am trying to keep this simple. Of course, no one should notice. The articles are appropriate to the season regardless of what year they were written in.
What might get noticed is that a few extra articles will be added to the mix. This will only continue between about now and the beginning of November, which was when I started recycling articles last year. Because the blog started in the beginning of September, and I started recycling year-old articles in the beginning of November, there are articles from September and October (between about September 1 and November 1) of 2016 that have not yet been recycled. I want to use them up just to that none get left out.
This is probably way more explanation than anyone needs, particularly since it is mostly in regard to something that should not get noticed; but it will explain the few extra articles between now and November. If I get a bit of time later today, I might add the first of the superfluous articles tonight.