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The chaste tree: When pruning makes a tree
The chaste tree: When pruning makes a tree
By Earl Nickel
As a nurseryman, I am occasionally asked: “What’s an attractive small tree that grows quickly and has lovely flowers?” That’s a short list, but one very fine candidate is the Mediterranean tree ...
This Week's Stories
Furniture maker brings his modern Croft House line home to San Francisco with pop-up
“I’m a Bay Area kid at heart,” says Riley Rea, co-founder of Croft House, a furniture line known for its simple, modern forms and natural materials, a look inspired by Rea’s Northern California ...
Clematis vine an adaptable native with a whimsical side
The words “clematis” and “California native” might not seem to belong together, but in fact there are not one but two lovely and tough herbaceous clematis that are native to our fair state. ...
S.F.’s knockout garden takes root atop Transbay Transit Center
We’ve been hearing rumors for the past several years that trees were being planted atop the new San Francisco transit center : palms, gingkos, oaks, even redwoods. Now that the park is open, we can see ...
Flowering vine mandevilla brings a new hue to the garden
The Sun Parasol line of mandevillas has proven to be a popular way to add extravagant pink and red flowers to a sunny spot in one’s garden. Now there’s an exceptionally lovely apricot entry to this ...
National Heirloom Exposition returns to Santa Rosa in September
Garden Events National Heirloom Exposition It’s that time again for gardening’s heirloom extravaganza. This nonprofit show will include speakers, demonstrations, ...
Orinda ranch house gets a ‘Mad Men’ update, with a room for perfume
A random scent will instantly transport Dan Rolleri back in time. “The smell of jasmine reminds me of doing my paper route as a kid,” says the Millbrae native. Everything from the dampness of ...
Add instant color to your summer soiree with potted plants
Let’s say you’re having friends over for a get-together next week and you want to entertain outdoors. Then you notice your yard could use a little sprucing up. What to do? Let me say ...
A Sonoma Mountain home and winery far above the fog
James Gray became a believer in the New Age phenomenon of manifestation when he magically conjured a Sonoma County homestead from across the Atlantic. Granted, if like Gray you were raised in the sunny ...
The joy of seed saving
You can save money and have some fun by saving seeds from garden vegetables and flowers to grow again next year. While it is easy to do, to succeed you need to know what kinds of seeds to save, when and ...
1895 home is all Victorian eye candy outside and modern...
More than a decade ago, Kristen and Luis Peña purchased their 1895 Victorian in Noe Valley. For the stylish young couple and their then-2-year-old daughter, Sadie, the family-friendly neighborhood was a ...
Let this ‘Purple Pixie’ bring a little color to the garden
Burgundy-leaved Chinese fringe flower shrubs (Loropetalum) have become a popular choice for adding reddish tones to a garden. For certain gardeners, however, the 6- foot-tall and 8-foot-wide plants are ...
Manhattan’s High Line park offers lessons for SF greenbelts
An elevated railroad track in the middle of Manhattan doesn’t sound like a good prospect for a beautiful and innovative urban park, but the High Line park is just that. Our cities, including those in the ...
SF boutique Future Perfect is also its founder’s apartment
David Alhadeff had a literary reference in mind when he expanded his The Future Perfect design boutique in San Francisco. “I thought, maybe this can be like Mrs. Madrigal’s place in (Armistead ...
Home Design
Studio visit with Richard Carter in his 1874 Napa County...
To get to artist Richard Carter’s secluded Pope Valley compound, you have to drive up one side of a Napa County mountain and down the other, past the Angwin Chevron station and around a few more bends. ...
How Bay Area gardeners can grow their own soup
Gardeners are futurists. While we eat what’s in season, we are also planning for future seasons. In June, I am making use of root crops and greens I planted earlier in the year, but I am also already ...
Peace, love and a ’70s vibe rock a Berkeley home
One fateful day, when Jordan Vouga was a middle-school student in Chicago, his mother took him to the library, where he rented the 1970 documentary “Woodstock: Three Days of Peace, Music… and Love.” ...
Evergreen dogwood: Some bark and lots of blooms
Dogwood is a very popular deciduous tree for an environment that sees bright light or part sun, and it’s one of the trees where the flowers appear first or just as the first tiny leaves are appearing. ...
Now that you know about finger limes, here’s where to get them
My April 8 column on finger limes created quite the stir, making it one of the most popular columns in my 12 years writing for The Chronicle. I received letters from readers all over the Bay Area ...
Pattern and color come out to play at designer’s midcentury...
“Our house is kind of a laboratory,” says designer Melanie Coddington. “Things are always shifting around and nothing is permanent.” Her Oakland home-slash-testing ground — which she shares with ...
Go over the brink of pink with new variety of pincushion flower
Many a gardener is familiar with the charms of pincushion flowers (Scabiosa). Of the many species available, the tallest is Scabiosa atropurpurea. Native to southern Europe, western Asia and northern ...
This Week's Stories
Furniture maker brings his modern Croft House line home to San Francisco with pop-up
“I’m a Bay Area kid at heart,” says Riley Rea, co-founder of Croft House, a furniture line known for its simple, modern forms and natural materials, a look inspired by Rea’s Northern California ...
Clematis vine an adaptable native with a whimsical side
The words “clematis” and “California native” might not seem to belong together, but in fact there are not one but two lovely and tough herbaceous clematis that are native to our fair state. ...
S.F.’s knockout garden takes root atop Transbay Transit Center
We’ve been hearing rumors for the past several years that trees were being planted atop the new San Francisco transit center : palms, gingkos, oaks, even redwoods. Now that the park is open, we can see ...
Flowering vine mandevilla brings a new hue to the garden
The Sun Parasol line of mandevillas has proven to be a popular way to add extravagant pink and red flowers to a sunny spot in one’s garden. Now there’s an exceptionally lovely apricot entry to this ...
National Heirloom Exposition returns to Santa Rosa in September
Garden Events National Heirloom Exposition It’s that time again for gardening’s heirloom extravaganza. This nonprofit show will include speakers, demonstrations, ...
Orinda ranch house gets a ‘Mad Men’ update, with a room for perfume
A random scent will instantly transport Dan Rolleri back in time. “The smell of jasmine reminds me of doing my paper route as a kid,” says the Millbrae native. Everything from the dampness of ...