Under the Solano Sun

I love to grow a variety of easy-to plant, spring-flowering bulbs for their colorful, cheery blooms in the garden and to fill vases inside my home. One of my favorites is ranunculus, which come in a variety of colors and petal styles, and are very easy to grow.

Every so often, I rescue a spider from my bathroom, and sometimes I need to call my husband to help. I do the same for other creatures, but I have always been particularly curious about spiders. One spider type that visits often has very long legs, which are well known as daddy-longlegs.

We live near a fast food restaurant that doesn't have much landscaping, mostly white rocks and few scrubby plants. But it also has six compact, deciduous, spring-flowering magnolia trees planted in two groups of three that are quite charming.

My mother bought me the cutest pink flowering plant in a little 2-inch bunny planter for Easter. She told me that she thought it was the prettiest Kalanchoe that she had ever seen. It was adorable, and just bursting with flowers. I was a little puzzled though.

Starting from seed can open the door to more variety, but it helps to keep notes. 1) Don't start too early! Holding seedlings under poor conditions while waiting for ideal weather results in weak, spindly plants.