Fresno Gardening Green

I must confess that I always saw fruit flies as harmless nuisances. They love bananas and other fruits that I bought from a store and were easier to kill than houseflies. They only ate ripe and rotten fruit. Recently, a newscast mentioned concern about fruit flies because they were eating ripening as well…

 When teaching about pruning landscape trees, long-time Fresno arborist John Pape starts well before the first cut is made. Ensuring healthy trees, he says, begins when gardeners decide what sort of tree to plant and where.“We need to do research,” he said. “Trees live for a long time; we need to get it…

Pick a bouquet of herbs in the early morning to retain flavor. Keep them in a vase and use them all week.TasksMonitor soil moisture after rain and water if needed, especially for trees and shrubs.Renovate cool-season lawns – remove thatch and aerate.Hand pick snails and slugs in the early morning or use bait…

 Did you know that a group of owls is called ‘a parliament’? At the 3 Sisters Garden in Madera, a parliament of barn owls now calls it home thanks to Rich Gilman, a Master Gardener since 2025. Rich’s deep interest in barn owls was ignited in 2008 when he took a class about these nocturnal creatures from…

Enjoy the last flush of blooming roses along with the bounty of the fall harvest.TasksAdjust watering systems as weather cools.Remove and dispose of any fruit and nuts that cling to the tree.To discourage spider mites, spray hedges and shrubs with water to clean them and keep them free of dust.Water citrus,…