Challenging situations often lead to new opportunities. So it is with landscaping narrow side yards.
The California live oak tree at Montecito Preschool had to be cut down last November. Molly Matthews, co-founder of the preschool, reflects on the loss.
Growing your own plants from seeds or cuttings requires nothing more than a dedicated area of your yard or house where you will be sure to check in daily. I’ve used everything from tables in front of a sunny south-facing window indoors to jury-rigged cold frames and north-facing patios outdoors. But a small backyard greenhouse is fun if you enjoy propagating plants year-round and watching them grow.
Before you take on the cost and responsibility of a greenhouse, consider whether you have the space, what you like to grow and how much you will use it.
It’s getting easier for grandma to move into the backyard.
The Los Altos City Council approved two amended ordinances July 10, one governing the size of accessory structures in residential districts and another regulating accessory dwelling units (ADUs), also known as in-law units, granny units or secondary units.
As summer heats up, many Los Altos and Los Altos Hills residents are thinking about their pools – and repairing them. According to Phil Cooke, owner of the Mountain View-based Blue Water Pools, summer is the busiest time for his pool building and repair service.
“Everybody is paying attention to their pool, and anything that wasn’t fixed can be fixed,” he said.
Flies are the second-greatest pollinators after bees. As pollinators, flies are undervalued, understudied and underappreciated, according to John Whittlesey, owner of Canyon Creek Nursery and Design.
Whittlesey spoke at the Northern California Botanists’ Symposium last year. He said he started doing macrophotography several years ago, taking photos of “whatever ends up on a flower,” and saw lots of flies. He discovered that flies are very photogenic, and he wondered what they were doing.
