Blog Articles
In January through May 2024 I migrated my blogs from years 2009 through 2023 to this site from Google Blogger. You will note that the older blog posts have varied dates and life events since the posts aren’t in their original order. Just a bit of clarification as you scroll the blog.
Shading Patio Areas
Arbors and Shade structures, Arbors and Shade Structures, Construction, Landscape Design / loismillersgreenspeakcom
Living in California (at least part of the year!) means lots of sun almost year round. Some patios are even hot and sunny in the winter here! Depends on the orientation, house walls blocking wind or adjacent structures reflecting heat, but its pretty common. So its handy to have a ready area of shade for
Shading Patio Areas Read More »
Powdery Mildew
Maintenance, Plant Diseases / loismillersgreenspeakcom
plant disease Powdery Mildew information
Creative Solution to a Big Eyesore
Landscape Design / loismillersgreenspeakcom
Mural on a Water Tank to help it blend in
Creative Solution to a Big EyesoreRead More »
Fall Check List
Maintenance, pruning / loismillersgreenspeakcom
Fall Maintenance in the garden
Salvias
Drought Tolerant Gardens, Perennials / loismillersgreenspeakcom
information about the genera Salvia
Rose Care
Flowering Shrubs, Insect Pests, Maintenance, Roses / loismillersgreenspeakcom
Rose care information
The Trouble with Cobbles
Maintenance, Plant Diseases, Trees / loismillersgreenspeakcom
decorative cobbles can be a problem for trees
The Trouble with CobblesRead More »
Living with Native Oaks
Drought Tolerant Gardens, Insect Pests, Maintenance, Native Plants, Plant Diseases, Trees / loismillersgreenspeakcom
I took these photos with my Iphone in Flood Park off Bay Road in Menlo Park. Not too shabby for a camera in a phone!The park has gorgeous old Oak trees- Coast Live Oaks and Valley Oaks that are many hundreds of years old.Coast Live Oaks are evergreen and have rounded leaves with slightly spiny edges.
Living with Native OaksRead More »
Water Conservation in the Garden
Drought Tolerant Gardens, Irrigation Maintenance, Maintenance, Specialized Gardens / loismillersgreenspeakcom
saving water in the garden
Water Conservation in the GardenRead More »
The Real Geranium
Perennials / loismillersgreenspeakcom
Pelargoniums are often mistaken as Geraniums
Article clarifies difference
Queen Wilhelmina Garden
Flowering Bulbs, Perennials, Travel / loismillersgreenspeakcom
A visit to the Queen Whilhelmina Garden in Golden Gate Park- Spring
Queen Wilhelmina GardenRead More »
Rose Pruning
Flowering Shrubs, Maintenance, Roses / loismillersgreenspeakcom
Despite the lovely warm, dry weather the winter pruning must be done! Especially in mild years when plants are fooled by lack of cold and just keep growing and growing and growing. In the pictures above I have some before and afters of Roses trimmed and untrimmed (also note the poor staking of the tree
Fountain Grass- the good, the bad and the ugly
Maintenance / loismillersgreenspeakcom
red fountain grass- maintenance and pet nuisance
Fountain Grass- the good, the bad and the uglyRead More »
Annie’s Annuals and Perennials Nursery
Nurseries, Travel / loismillersgreenspeakcom
Spectacular Display Gardens and Selection worth a Visit Its not to often that I am confounded on the ID of plants but that is the case with quite a few plants at Annie’s Annuals and Perennials Nursery. The nursery truly sells some unusual hybrids and varieties. Many that I haven’t come across before. Of course
Annie’s Annuals and Perennials NurseryRead More »
BEES!
Wildlife in the Garden / loismillersgreenspeakcom
Its hard to underestimate the value of European Honeybees and Native Bees as pollinators in our gardens, fields, orchards and wild areas. Above is a Bumblebee gathering pollen from a Lavender flower.I get a lot of comments from client’s about bees- either friendly or fearful. Everything from- “I don’t want any of those bee plants
Patio Furniture and Accessories
Landscape Design / loismillersgreenspeakcom
A patio without comfortable and appealing furniture is almost unusable in my opinion. Having cushy chairs, a footstool or ottoman (or 2) plus an appropriately sized dining table with comfortable chairs makes the difference between using and not using the space. With the availability of patio furniture and price variety in the market, there is no reason
Patio Furniture and AccessoriesRead More »
Plants for Shaded Areas
Plants for Shade, Specialized Gardens / loismillersgreenspeakcom
Shade Plants for temperate climates Deep shade is always a challenge for finding and maintaining plants that will survive in low light. Plants need light to photosynthesize so they can’t do very dark places at all but can pick up enough filtered or reflected light even in deep shade if they are adapted to that type
Plants for Shaded AreasRead More »
