Hibiscus in full bloom

As you may can tell, my schedule has not yet stabilized, but I really am hoping to get back on track by the end of this week. The Bea Peskoe Lunchtime Lecture Series that is an integral part of the Homestead Center for the Arts organization, always lines up interesting lectures and the one on Monday was no exception. (http://www.homesteadcenterforthearts.com)

It was a great presentation by one of the County Extension Agents held at their facility in the Redland. The topics were vegetable gardening in raised beds and containers and pests – all specific to our unique environment. The raised bed and container aspects are because trying to dig in this soil is incredibly difficult unless one does it commercially with industrial-strength equipment. Now, as I have mentioned before, plants are not particularly safe around me, however, getting better with them has been a goal of mine for some time. Since we are making changes in our backyard – another update on that soon – the time has come for me to get serious about plants. Well, not nearly as serious as some people, but able to at least maintain the yard after having brought in a professional landscaper to recover it. Anyway, the vegetable part of the yard is limited and mostly my husband’s domain, but much of what the lecturer said was applicable to other plants as well – especially when discussing pests. Thanks to a great lecture, I am really inspired and focused on increasing my ability to manage plants.