Vicky Bartish

Writing the Blue Thumb blog all summer and into fall (I believe it really IS fall now) has been an adventure for both Cheryl and me. We have met many new friends in our quest to make water conservation and … Continue reading →

“Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”  ~George Eliot I could not think of a better way to express my love of … Continue reading →

  Today my fellow blogger Cheryl and I had the distinct pleasure of doing a radio interview with Dave Diamond of Salem Radio’s “Community Today” public affairs program.  Although we have done other radio and television interviews for the Blue &...

I knew a woman who had a greenhouse window in her mountain home kitchen with a few basil plants and a tiny dish of water tucked discretely among them. When I asked about the dish of water, she said, “Oh, … Continue reading →

Writing this blog is a great learning experience— seeing what people want to know, but do not know about water-efficient gardens, irrigation systems, and water conservation in general. We get interesting questions from gardeners of all levels and are...

  We recently heard from the owner of a naughty five year old Jack Russell terrier—a perky little pup who likes to chew on (operating) sprinkler heads—NO! NO! Fido! Aside from the astronomical cost of doggie dental work these days, … Continu...

My longtime friend in Folsom has been working to improve her small backyard turf grass lawn (maybe eight hundred square feet) nearly as long as I’ve known her—more than twenty years. She still hasn’t got a handle on it and … Continue readin...

Water Wise Plants Can Be Soothing To the Spirit And The Water Bills There are some less than accurate perceptions of all water-wise plants not being “user-friendly”—you know, sharp and pointy, not things you want to go touch, etc. Today … C...

Last time around, we discussed water conservation in the vegetable garden, and the article was essentially directed at gardens planted in the ground. However, there are many talented gardeners out there who grow fabulous veggies and ornamentals in con...

  We have it on the best authority (our friend Monica at The Regional Water Authority) that folks may not be aware that we are sitting here at Blue Thumb Blog Central waiting patiently to be asked questions such as, … Continue reading →