House & Garden magazine folds

Holy hummingbirds! House & Garden magazine gone, gone, gone. An institution phased out. A generational flip.
When one tries to visit the House & Garden website, it goes to that of a new Condé Nast magazine, Domino, which may, indeed, create a domino effect.
After years of financial losses and a previous shutdown from 1993 to 1996, the magazine seemed to be cooking along until its publisher, Joseph Lagani, left rather suddenly to become vice president and general manager of the online zine, GlamLiving, a true sign of the times. Apparently print copy subscribers now receive copies of Architectural Digest or Domino in place of House & Garden, whether they want them or not.
True, the 107-year-old publication developed overlap syndrome with House Beautiful, Better Homes & Gardens, Country Home, our regional Sunset and Dwell – a hipper magazine with a younger audience that has slimmed down recently. And in bad economic times, people often cut back on magazine subscriptions, advertising and purchasing big-ticket items such as furniture and large garden additions, even despite the trend to “nest” during times of insecurity. Other publications have suggested that when people aren’t buying new houses, they remodel what they have, which should have worked in House & Garden’s favor.

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Sonoma Mission Gardens offers the second of its free “home orchard fruit tree pruning clinics” at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26. Whether your “orchard” is one tree, an imaginary tree or one you hope to plant, this will be a great learning experience.
Heck, even if you just wonder what it’s all about, go and learn, and maybe even pick up a bare root fruit tree while you are there. RSVP to reserve your space, because the class is limited to 30 participants. 851 Craig Ave. just west of Arnold Dr., Sonoma. 707.938.5775.

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While this is “dormant” time for us gardeners and our gardens, there are still a few things to do if you need an excuse to play in the dirt. When we have long periods between rains, especially with medium to high winds, plants can actually dry out. Especially those that live under eaves and don’t get a whole lot of rain anyway.
So check outdoor potted plants to make sure they have enough moisture to keep them alive, including any fava beans or winter vegetables you may have planted.

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Speaking of fava beans, the two-year-old purple gift ones I received have come up, along with the store-bought ones, so apparently age was irrelevant. It truly excites me to plant the dried beans, especially those given with love and respect, and watch their baby stems uncurl and reach toward the light, beginning their life journey of drawing nitrogen naturally from the air and channeling it into the soil.

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Sonoma Garden Park will hold a seminar, “Grafting Fruit Trees” on Saturday, Feb. 9 from 1-3 p.m., starring Tommy Perot, “an extremely knowledgeable ninth-grade high school student,” who will teach the class. Apparently Perot’s talk last year was so successful he’s back for an encore. Free scions will be given to participants. Tickets are $15-$20, with proceeds benefiting Sonoma Garden Park. Seventh Street East between MacArthur and Denmark streets at the late Pauline Bond’s ranch in Sonoma. For more information call Tiona Gundy, garden coordinator, at 707.996.0712, ext. 120.
Also, a big welcome to the garden’s new garden manager, Rebecca Bozzelli.

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Sonoma Mission Gardens manager Lydia Constantini sent out two hilarious newsletters this week. One suggests we all check out the Crape Myrtle trees at Taco Bell for perfect pruning. While I would never recommend anyone eat there, Taco Bell does have gorgeous trees.
Constantini recommends “aggressive pruning for this variety of tree” because “Crape Myrtles bloom on the current year’s wood, just like a rose, wood that has sprouted and grown since spring. So strong, bold winter pruning, removing old wood and spent seed capsules, and cutting back into and removing spindly twigs is in order.” Now.
More wisdom from Constantini, this time regarding real tearjerkers, onions. “When onion plants are first planted, their growth is concentrated on new roots and green leaves or tops. Once the top is formed and a specific combination of daylight, darkness and temperature is reached, bulb formation starts. The size of the mature onion bulb depends on the number and size of the tops. For each leaf, there will be a ring of onion. The larger the leaf, the larger the ring becomes. Clever, huh?”
Among the “weep for joy” bare root onion varieties in stock now we find Italian Sweet onions, Super Stars, Candy, Walla Walla, Big Daddy, Stockton Sweet, and Lancelot Leeks to “enhance any meal at your round table.” Remember that the greens and young bulbs can be used in cooking at nearly every stage of their lives.
If you are into bare root berries, check out the abundance of Heritage Red, Willamette Red, Fall Gold and Bababerry raspberries; Thornless loganberry, Marion and Black Satin Thornless blackberries; Berkeley, Darrow, Jubilee and Misty blueberries; and Pixwell gooseberries. Asparagus and Green Globe artichokes wait for you to give them a home as well.
And of course you can still plant garlic, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbages. And then you have to eat them!

Get down! Get dirty!

“Let the first onion flourish there,
Rose among the roots, the maiden-fair
Wine-scented and poetic soul
Of the capacious salad bowl.”
from “To a Gardner”     
by Robert Louis Stevenson

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