When offered the opportunity as a Master Gardener to be trained and unleashed on CA to ID and log sighting of the Tree of Heaven (TOH) (Ailanthus altissima), I jumped at the chance. TOH is an invasive, wildly hearty, rapidly growing deciduous tree native to China and Taiwan.
We are a gardening family, nothing very grandiose, garden size and configuration determined by the situation, a few pots or postage stamp sized at times, other times more landscaped.
If you live in the California Central Valley and fancy yourself a summer vegetable gardener, you've probably tried your hand at growing tomatoes. And that's all types of tomatoes, from slicers, to cherries to heirlooms to beefsteak.
In the midst of this hottest summer, I take solace in making iced tea from the herbs in my garden every morning. This approach can be done using the sun tea method, putting herbs in a glass jar outside in the sun for part of the day, then refrigerating.
