articles by Linda Chisari

• "Life With the Eucalyptus " in San Diego Home and Garden, p. 90, March 1990.

• "A Drought Tolerant English Garden" in San Diego Home and Garden, p. 98-102, April 1990.

• Column written for San Diego Home and Garden, entitled "The Drier Garden":

• "Modifying Existing Gardens for Drought" (January 1991) "Mediterranean Herbs" (February 1991)
• "Plants for Dry Shade" (March 1991)
• "Physical Characteristics of Drought-Tolerant Plants" (April 1991)
• "Seasons of Color in Dry Gardens" (May 1991)
• "Lawns in a Dry Garden" (June 1991)
• "Native Perennials for Your Garden" (July 1991)
• "Vegetable Gardening with Less Water" (August 1991)
• "Shades of Green" (October 1991)
• "A Sense of Place" (March 1992)

• "Savoring San Diego's Mediterranean Climate" in Savoring San Diego, pp. 10-11, Wimmer, Memphis and Dallas, 1995.

• "Wood Framed Raised Beds" in Kitchen Garden, May 1997

• Book Reviews, Kitchen Garden, January 1996, July 1997

• "In Grandpa's Garden" in San Diego Horticulture Society Newsletter, July 1999

• "Mom's Garden" in San Diego Horticulture Society Newsletter, September 2000

• "Late Fall and Early Winter Bulbs" in San Diego Horticulture Society Newsletter, March 2001

Columns written for the Del Mar Sandpiper

• June 2005  "A Fitting Garden"
• July 2005  "The Dirt"
• August 2005  "Making Every Drop Count"
• September 2005  "The Right Bulbs"
• October 2005  "Living with the Natives"
• November 2005  "Gardening for Wildlife"
• February 2006  "When Mow, Blow and Go isn't Enough"
• March 2006  "Gardening under Our Big Trees"
• April 2006  "Gardens of Del Mar"
• May 2006  "Spice up your life!"
• May 2009 "A Question of Roots"
• June 2009 "Dr. Linda's Water Diet Revolution"
• November 2014  "Drinking Responsibly: Del Mar’s Garden Pros weigh in on Lawns"
• March 2018 “Happy Birthday, Crest Rim"

an appearance by Linda Chisari
on KPBS's "A Growing Passion" in June 2013

Linda's 3-minute "segment" starts at 15:30 minutes

www.video.kpbs.org/video/2365007341

Spring Sneaks In
May 8, 2013

Wild Hydrangea.  Photo Linda Chisari  Click on the picture to enlarge.

This is the week when Spring snuck in. Even though we were advised by Weather.com that the time was nigh, it was the scrim of scarlet buds on the hillside that announced Spring's arrival.....just colored enough to announce their rebirth, but not so dense as to obscure the still-brown hillsides of winter.

With each day come advancing pastels of yellow and chartreuse, lining the roadsides with a lacy screen. Closer viewing allows us to see starbursts of lime green leaves opening to the warmth of the sunny days.

The river can be seen sparkling through the trees, its clear water unmuddied by rain. A rainbow of rock colors is visible through the water; trout wisely seek shadows on these clear blue days.

At night, the deep blue skies are studded with stars. Since there is no moon, the galaxy's jewels have no competition for their pinpoints of light.

Birds announce their arrival, the females softly twittering about  in search of twiglets for nesting while the males herald their fitness as fathers in loud clear voices.

Sparkling white plates of wild hydrangeas lift their faces to the branch-filtered sunlight while, at their feet, trout lilies celebrate the onset of another fishing season, Spring Beauties blush, and Ostrich Ferns begin unfurling to take in summer's warmth.

Autumn’s Glory
October 6, 2006

Photo Linda Chisari  Click on the picture to enlarge.

It’s dawn and red maple torches light up the hillside even though a swirling veil of fog wraps the ridges.

Moments later, fingers of sunlight reach over the crest and suck in  the fog, exposing the yellow birches, burgundy oaks and green velvet hemlocks that carpet the mountain’s flank.

As the day becomes fully awake, sugar maples burn with vivid orange, red and yellow. The meadow swarms with insects seeking sustenance from the goldenrod, Joe Pye weed and asters of Fall. The day is golden and scented with wood smoke and newly mown hay.

Birds soar and scuffle, searching out a last northern meal before following the sun to balmy winters. A tiny field mouse darts in and out of the warmth of a stone wall. Mother deer wander through the meadow and across the stream, followed by their Spring-born young.

Later in the day, as the sun is setting, and the world can’t possibly be any more beautiful, the harvest moon rises from the East and edges everything in silver filigree assuring soft light through the night while the sun sleeps.