Napa Master Gardener Column

By Cindy Watter, UC Master Gardener of Napa County While organizing some of my old newspaper columns, I came across one that declared myaffection for invasive plants. In fact, I ranked them at the top of my plant pantheon, because forme, “invasive” can be synonymous with “easy to grow.” (Yes, I’m…

By Cindy Watter, UC Master Gardener of Napa County  When I first moved to Napa, many years ago, I was surprised by the abundance of fig trees inpeople’s yards. My next-door neighbors had two. The house across the street had one. Myhouse had one. I was told that we have lots of figs in Napa because…

By Cindy Kerson, UC Master Gardener of Napa County Native to North America, manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.) comes in many shapes and sizes. It can be a tree, a shrub or a ground cover. A manzanita tree can reach 20 feet in height, while the ground cover may only be two inches tall.

by Penny Pawl, UC Master Gardener of Napa County Last year at holiday time I was given a most unusual gift: an amaryllis bulb encased in wax. I had no idea such a thing existed, so I immediately looked online for how to care for it.

Shady areas in a garden tend to cause a lot of head scratching. These spots often confound gardeners who haven't yet learnedthat many attractive plants thrive in dry shade. Some shade-loving plants have colorful foliage that provides as much delightas a bright flower patch in full sun.