Spring fever - From the Editor - gardening season - Brief Article - Editorial

Sunset, April, 2002 by Katie Tamony

When it comes to gardening, you could call me a late bloomer. I blame it on the spoils of a childhood surrounded by Gravenstein apple trees, Santa Rosa plums, and tangles of blackberries growing wild on my parents' acre of land. Even the camellias and iceberg roses were part of the wilderness, planted by previous owners and needing next to no care. We didn't have to lift a finger.

Over the years, I learned enough through working here to plant my own raised-bed vegetable garden, design my own container plantings, and, generally roll up my sleeves and get digging.

Much of my motivation to garden comes from just looking out of my office window at the acres of gardens that surround our building here in Menlo Park. I can wander the paths anytime I start to feel restless or need to take a break. There's the test garden, where coordinator Bud Stuckey can usually be found experimenting with new plants or creating a new outdoor project. There's the Best of the West collection we created with Monrovia, showcasing some of the easiest-to-grow plants available at nurseries. And then there are the oaks, which seem almost human, watching all of the activity in the garden with calm, grandfatherly detachment. If you're ever in our neighborhood, stop by for a self-guided tour (for information, go to www.sunset.com/garden/tours.html).

In this issue, we kick off the gardening season with "Marathon Perennials" (page 112), a story that's both inspiring and helpful in choosing the right plants for the longest bloom. It's the kind of story I hope you'll rip out and take under your arm to the nursery.