Featured Garden: The Green Gardener

My inspiration and knowledge came from 2 gentlemen who immigrated to the U.S. in 1914 & 1924 from Co. Mayo Ireland. My Grandfather Martin O'Hara (1887-1987) and my 1st Cousin (once removed) Mike Walsh (1911-2009). When I was young, in the 60's & 70's my grandfather had a 1/4 acre piece of land in Oakland behind his house, that we would pitch fork (turn the soil) for him and he planted lots of vegetables. What a great time we spent together, preparing, propagating, potting, transplanting, sowing, seeding, harvesting and best of all... eating! I began my own gardening adventures in 1987 (as a tribute to my deceased grandfather) when I purchased my first property in So. Sacramento County. The rest is history. I hope you enjoy my gardening experience and share your own with your family and friends. It truly is magical.

I am a naturalist at heart and my favorite plant has got to be the Coast & Giant Redwood trees. We have been blessed in California with the world's tallest and largest trees in the world. That speaks volumes for our climate, soil and geography that is a rare find on this earth today. I thank John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinochet who established our National Parks and saved many of our old growth forests from the reckless destruction of our natural resources.

The favorite feature of my garden is not just one subject, but as many subjects that affect all the different types of gardens, forests, rivers, flora, fauna and natural resources that we can have available to us. I take great pleasure in smelling the roses, incense cedar, jasmine, lupine and honeysuckle. I wonder at the beauty of all the different types of plants, shrubs, trees and flowers. Most of all to watch what you have planted grow into a marvelous experiment of nature.

The seasons... When's the right time to plant in my area? and finding the right plant for the right spot... Will this tree grow well here or will it do better there? and natural pest control...

Educate yourself. The more you learn the better a gardener you will be. That's why I really like Your Garden Show, because it brings all of us 'naturalists' together and we learn from each other.