The Savvy Sage

two purple sage flowers with a green background of foliage

A Master Gardeners blog to: Educate, Inspire, and Ignite Knowledge.

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Photo of the cover of the book The Light Eaters - How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoe Schlanger
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The Light Eaters by Zoe Schlanger – A Fresh Look at the Other Kingdom

May 30, 2025
 Article by Mike Kluk - This is Part I of an article that will be published over two months. Scientists currently estimate that one billion years ago, plants and animals diverged from a common ancestor to form separate kingdoms. Since then, plants and animals have evolved radically different…
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Spanish lavender 'Javelin Forte Deep Purple'
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Growing Lavender

May 30, 2025
Article by Joy Humphrey -  Before I developed an interest in gardening, I thought there was only one type of lavender—just, you know, lavender—and that it made a really nice scent for hand lotion. After I became a gardener, I discovered there is a whole world of lavender out there in numerous…
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Lady beetle nursery
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Dirty Stories

May 30, 2025
 Article by Cheri Meyers - As a recent graduate of the UC Master Gardener Program of Yolo County, this is my first attempt to share my gardening experiences in the Yolo Gardener Newsletter and Savvy Sage Blog. I hope you find it worth the read.It’s a lovely but warm spring day here in West…
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Photo of the elegant UCD Arboretum waterway.
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A Spring Walk in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden

May 30, 2025
  Article by Lorie Hammond - A friend and I walk the UC Davis Arboretum every week. Each time she comments: “How can it be so different?” And every time, we are amazed. There is never a bad time to see this ever-changing collection of plant communities. Always beautiful. Always different. But…
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Flame skimmer dragonfly on plant stem
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The Nature Cure

May 20, 2025
Article and photos (adapted) by Tanya Kucak, UC Master Gardener, Yolo County Spending time in gardens and parks can not only make you healthier and happier, it can also make you more resilient and “a better member of civilization,” Florence Williams said in a keynote talk at the 2023 Wild Wonder…
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