Napa Master Gardener Column

An Iris Primer, by Iris Craig My mother loved flowers: she named me Iris. Having a flower name has affected my life and perhaps led me to be a Master Gardener. When I purchased my house 40 years ago, friends arrived with iris rhizomes for my garden.

By T. Eric Nightingale, UC Master Gardener of Napa County I love California native plants. I also love to eat. Until recently I had not considered the possibility of an overlap between these two passions.

Penny Pawl, U. C. Master Gardener of Napa County Worms are not native to North America. About 20,000 years ago, our continent experienced an Ice Age, along with Europe and Asia. The phenomenon decimated the worm population, with the only survivors in parts of Turkey and the Mediterranean.

By Cindy Watter, UC Master Gardener of Napa County About 25 years ago, my next-door neighbor brought home a half-dead tangle of a plant that she called a passionflower (Passiflora). She planted it in a large trough and set to work spraying it lavishly with Miracle-Gro.

By Denise Seghesio Levine, U.C. Master Gardener of Napa County To pinch or not to pinch? That is the question. Pinching is a technique that can shape a plant; increase production of herbs, flowers and fruits; determine the size of blooms and fruit and even keep your garden blooming longer.