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Photo courtesy of Robin Ziegler
Try using a saw and crowbar to cut and pull out six-inch squares of tired, concrete-like soil to create a new, low-water garden. That's what 65-year-old Robin Ziegler did--and was awarded the Vista Irrigation District's win in the 2020 WaterSmart Landscape Contest. Here's how she did it!
This is the last of a series of WaterSmart Landscape Contest Winners. Stay tuned for my next piece in the UT’s Home/Garden section next month!
Tim and Brianna Montgomery’s cottage-style home. Photo by Brianna Montgomery.
There are homeowners who love to garden--and those who have no interest at all. But you'd be surprised by how water issues can drive them equally to change up their landscape. Here are two 2020 WaterSmart Landscape Contest winners in my latest story for The San Diego Union-Tribune's Home and Garden section.
Spatchcocked Turkey
I joined KPBS Midday Edition host Maureen Cavanaugh on November 16, 2020 to offer advice to Thanksgiving host newbies. The pandemic means that those of us who have long gathered for the meal at someone else’s house or at a restaurant now may be responsible for preparing our own meal for our household. That can be daunting if you’ve never done that before. The key is planning it all out so you aren’t standing in the kitchen at 5 p.m. freaked out because the turkey isn’t cooked but the pies need to go into the oven—and what happened to the stuffing?
If you’re the designated cook for Thanksgiving for the first time, take a listen.
Photo by Laura Lisauskas
Sometimes it takes a pro to design and implement a beautiful landscape, but sometimes a thoughtful amateur can also turn a sad front yard into — literally — an award-winning landscape.
Laura Lisauskas, the Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s 2020 WaterSmart Landscape Contest winner, has been in the design world since 1999, transitioning from commercial interior architectural design to landscaping. She redid her family’s street-facing side yard as a professional milestone and got a check as winner for $250.
Leslie Rush, on the other hand, the winner of the city of Oceanside’s 2020 WaterSmart Landscape Contest, had no experience in landscaping but gave herself plenty of time over the years and, through a major home renovation, to research and plan her front-yard landscape.
If you’re interested in how to transform a water-gulping landscape into one more appropriate to our desert environment, learn how these two women worked their magic in my newest story for the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Home and Garden section.
Two homes. Two very different parts of San Diego County. And two totally different takes on what it means to have a drought-tolerant landscape. But these homeowners both were winners of their respective water districts’ WaterSmart Landscape Contest in 2020.
Tracy Stephenson took the prize in the California American Water contest with her front yard’s beach theme, while Susie and Todd Brant redid their front yard with a succulent landscape that won them the WaterSmart Landscape Contest in the city of Escondido.
I had the pleasure of talking to these home gardeners and learning the stories behind their winning landscapes for the first of my series on these contests for the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Home & Garden section (so stay tuned for the next duo of winners!).
Farmers market finds
If a friend—or your mom—came into your kitchen and opened your fridge, what would you like her to find? Pints of blueberries and strawberries? A bowl of watermelon, honeydew, and pineapple that you just cut up? Maybe a crisper filled with Persian cucumbers, broccolini, Swiss chard, and eggplant, and possibly a bowl of fresh peaches, plums, and mangoes on the counter?
A refrigerator filled with gorgeous ripe produce may seem like the stuff of dreams, but it doesn’t have to be out of reach on a regular basis. In fact, embracing a few strategies can make eating plenty of fruits and vegetables an affordable reality. This piece I wrote for Diabetic Living just appeared on parent publication EatingWell's website. Need tips to save money on buying produce? The experts tell us how!
