Soil

City contractors this week began to move a large amount of excess soil from the Bluebird Canyon landslide area to the Atlantic Way storm drain project, allowing the restoration project to continue.This project requires the use of heavy equipment to transport and move soil, to install the storm drain and to regrade the slope after installation. Construction will be limited to the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and the soil-hauling operations are expected to take no more than 10 working days.

"I admire lolling on a lawn by a water-lilied pond to eat white currants and see goldfish." -- John Keats "Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand."  -- Muhammad Ali It has become all but a foregone conclusion that our first garden (or even subsequent gardens) will include some sort of lawn area. This is probably due to a vague recollection of Victorian gardens in our collective consciousness, replete with vast acreage of emerald green grass, a pond sprinkled with water lilies and a white gazebo.

“Not to create stress, but there are only seven shopping days remaining until Christmas.” — Anonymous Bareroot roses make their debut this month and are available through February. Because these plants require less care and space, your favorite nursery will offer their largest rose selection of the year. In addition, you will save money on bareroot roses and they are easier to plant! Buy bareroot plants from a reputable nursery. Plants are rated according to standards established by the American Assn.

Bare root roses make their debut with the anticipated winter storm this weekend, and are available through February. Roses require a period of dormancy and during this time are sold sans roots or bare root. Because these plants require less care and space, your favorite nursery will offer their largest rose selection of the year. Purchase bare root plants from a reputable nursery. Plants are rated according to standards established by the American Assn. of Nurserymen, with each grade designated by a number — 1, 1 ½ and 2. No. 1 grade are the best, generally the only grade you will find at a nursery.

Of the approximately 300,000 known species found in the plant kingdom, nearly 2,000 have been identified for culinary, fragrance or physics uses. Nature, in her infinite wisdom, has given us a bounty of useful plants that make our lives more enjoyable — we need only to experience them. Before you rush down to your favorite nursery and select a plethora of herbs at random, think about the kind of herbs you wish to grow. Most of us are not herbalists, and we grow herbs mainly for culinary uses and simply because they're intriguing and fun. One might decide to grow herbs solely for their fragrance or for their medicinal qualities.

The city of Laguna Beach has committed to giving the Bluebird Canyon landslide victims lots on which they can rebuild their homes, Bob Burnham, community recovery coordinator, said. The restoration work, now estimated to cost $20 million, is expected to be completed by the end of March, and Flamingo Road — the epicenter of the slide — will be restored to its former configuration. The lots will be restored to a safety factor of 1.5, meaning they will be 50% more stable than before the landslide, in accordance with state law. "Flamingo Road will be virtually identical to what it was before the slide," Burnham said.

How does their garden grow? Come and see. Garden members, families, friends and interested community members are invited to attend the grand opening of the South Laguna Community Garden from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Eagle Rock and Virginia Way. The celebration will include a pot luck, children’s activities and music, sponsored by the South Laguna Civic Assn. “The garden is much better than I ever expected,” said former Mayor Ann Christoph. “It’s one of the best experiences I’ve had since I’ve been in Laguna.

The tulip is the perhaps the best known of all bulbs. Its brilliant spring display is enjoyed throughout the world. The flowers vary considerably. Tulips are spectacular when massed alone or combine beautifully with other flowers such as alyssum, pansies and violas. Where you decide to enjoy tulips is only limited by your imagination. Tulips are officially divided into divisions, which group related flower types, but are not based on botanical relationships. To simplify my tulip purchases, I generally look for the time of bloom, early and midseason bloomers are labeled as such, and then select the colors, flower shape and size.

Steve Kawaratani "Tiptoe through the tulips..." -- Tiny Tim "Her Lips were red ... " -- Samuel Taylor Coleridge The tulip is the perhaps the best known of all bulbs. Its brilliant spring display is enjoyed in Laguna and throughout the world. The flowers vary considerably in color, form and height. Tulips are spectacular when massed alone or combine beautifully with other spring flowers such as alyssum, pansies and violas. Where you decide to enjoy tulips is only limited by your imagination, rock gardens, planting beds and containers are just a few suggestions.

Suzie Harrison Students in Jeanette Shaw's class weren't worried about how they measured up for this lesson. This time, they were paying more attention to how everything else around them measured up. Growing grass and learning to use a ruler was the task at hand for the kindergarten through second-graders in Shaw's summer school class held at Thurston Middle School. Especially interesting to the students was the physical research, and they weren't afraid to get their hands dirty.

“Not to create stress, but there are only seven shopping days remaining until Christmas.” — Anonymous Bareroot roses make their debut this month and are available through February. Because these plants require less care and space, your favorite nursery will offer their largest rose selection of the year. In addition, you will save money on bareroot roses and they are easier to plant! Buy bareroot plants from a reputable nursery. Plants are rated according to standards established by the American Assn.

How does their garden grow? Come and see. Garden members, families, friends and interested community members are invited to attend the grand opening of the South Laguna Community Garden from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Eagle Rock and Virginia Way. The celebration will include a pot luck, children’s activities and music, sponsored by the South Laguna Civic Assn. “The garden is much better than I ever expected,” said former Mayor Ann Christoph. “It’s one of the best experiences I’ve had since I’ve been in Laguna.

SoCal Artists hosts Hope exhibition The Southern California Artists Assn. (SoCal Artists) will hold a two-day open showing of historical and recent work by its founding president, artist and teacher Fredric W. Hope. Opening with an artist?s reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, the exhibition will also be open to the public from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. The exhibition will consist mostly of oil paintings, chosen from Hope?s modern landscape series, including his Coastal Highways, Crystal Cove and Hidden Hawaii series.

The tulip is the perhaps the best known of all bulbs. Its brilliant spring display is enjoyed throughout the world. The flowers vary considerably. Tulips are spectacular when massed alone or combine beautifully with other flowers such as alyssum, pansies and violas. Where you decide to enjoy tulips is only limited by your imagination. Tulips are officially divided into divisions, which group related flower types, but are not based on botanical relationships. To simplify my tulip purchases, I generally look for the time of bloom, early and midseason bloomers are labeled as such, and then select the colors, flower shape and size.

Cooler evening temperatures and the Canyon sycamores turning leaf color are a reminder that summer has departed. It has been consistently warm despite the on-and-off overcast weather… my anemones appeared pinker and the Russelia brighter than autumns past. The days have closed with a clear horizon over the ocean, and possi- bilities have returned. October is such a splendid month. Your questions for me included: Q. Besides ruining my view, my neighbor’s eucalyptus tree has covered my soil with debris.

Bare root roses make their debut with the anticipated winter storm this weekend, and are available through February. Roses require a period of dormancy and during this time are sold sans roots or bare root. Because these plants require less care and space, your favorite nursery will offer their largest rose selection of the year. Purchase bare root plants from a reputable nursery. Plants are rated according to standards established by the American Assn. of Nurserymen, with each grade designated by a number — 1, 1 ½ and 2. No. 1 grade are the best, generally the only grade you will find at a nursery.

Recent coverage from and about the climate workshop is hopefully giving impetus for positive changes in the “eco” arena. Since we lost another big tree in the canyon, the urge to recommend tree planting is irresistible. Starting this fall, it would be encouraging if an incentive for planting (and continuing to properly maintain) trees along parking surfaces for cooling, CO2 absorption and beautification could be enacted. Hopefully soon, the city could OK a survey of plant species on flat canyon land zoned open space with parking and an irrigation system already in place, but degraded by invasive weeds.

Of the approximately 300,000 known species found in the plant kingdom, nearly 2,000 have been identified for culinary, fragrance or physics uses. Nature, in her infinite wisdom, has given us a bounty of useful plants that make our lives more enjoyable — we need only to experience them. Before you rush down to your favorite nursery and select a plethora of herbs at random, think about the kind of herbs you wish to grow. Most of us are not herbalists, and we grow herbs mainly for culinary uses and simply because they're intriguing and fun. One might decide to grow herbs solely for their fragrance or for their medicinal qualities.

"October is... a wider horizon more clearly seen." -- Hal Borland   "When men and women agree, it is only in their conclusions; their reasons are always different." -- George Santayana   Heavy morning dews and Mary Kate's sycamore leaves turning color have reminded me that summer has passed. It has been surprisingly warm during this persistent period of on-and-off overcast weather. My salvias appeared bluer and the echinacea brighter than autumns past.

"I admire lolling on a lawn by a water-lilied pond to eat white currants and see goldfish." -- John Keats "Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand."  -- Muhammad Ali It has become all but a foregone conclusion that our first garden (or even subsequent gardens) will include some sort of lawn area. This is probably due to a vague recollection of Victorian gardens in our collective consciousness, replete with vast acreage of emerald green grass, a pond sprinkled with water lilies and a white gazebo.