Sharing Secrets

Jun 1

SHARING SECRETS: May Flowers

Edited by Cathy Tylka for Let’s Talk Plants! June 2024. Question for this month – All the rain brings May flowers. Well, we do live in...

Apr 3, 2023

SHARING SECRETS: Greenery!

Edited by Cathy Tylka, for Let’s Talk Plants! April 2023. Sharing Secrets Question for April… ... It’s getting greener since the rain,...

Dec 1, 2020

SHARING SECRETS: Decorate Your Garden For December?

What do you do to make your garden ready for Christmas, Hanukkah or the Winter Solstice? Or, do you use items from your garden for these

Nov 1, 2020

SHARING SECRETS: Watering as the Sun Goes Down...

What do you do when you’re watering as the sun goes down? A friend of mine called it beer watering, I say it is wine watering … anything

Oct 1, 2020

SHARING SECRETS: SDHS Facebook Page & Group Posts!

While the new Sharing Secrets Editor, Cathy Tylka, gets settled into her new role, you can read the many Sharing Secrets Columns of the past

Sep 1, 2020

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Sharing Secrets

While the new editor of the Sharing Secrets column gets trained by the retiring editor in the ins and outs of the job, you can still enjoy l

Aug 1, 2020

SHARING SECRETS: Water Features

The sound of splashing water is especially refreshing on these hot summer days. Do you have a favorite water feature in your garden?

Jul 1, 2020

SHARING SECRETS: Using Household Items in the Garden

How do you use household items in an unconventional way in the garden? For example, a friend of mine uses a sifter to spread diatomaceous e

Jun 1, 2020

SHARING SECRETS: Garden Structures Galore

Sharing Secrets Editor Needed - Many thanks to Tina Ivany for her great work editing this column. Tina is "stepping down" from this position

May 1, 2020

SHARING SECRETS: What’s the good news from your garden?

I feel so fortunate to have a garden at this time. Just sitting in the sun and admiring the Spring flowers cheers me up. I try not to think

Apr 1, 2020

SHARING SECRETS: Snails and Slugs

The editor of this column wandered into her garden after the recent rains and was immediately confronted by several enormous snails, also ap

Mar 1, 2020

SHARING SECRETS: General Gardening Tips

Do you have any general gardening tips for 2020 that might not fit into any particular category, but that you have learned from your own exp

Feb 1, 2020

SHARING SECRETS: Gnome Sweet Gnome

Garden Gnomes: Some people love them ("Yes! Even my fairy garden has a garden gnome.") and some people hate them ("Do they really have a pl

Jan 1, 2020

SHARING SECRETS: Growing Plants from Seeds.

Our December meeting featured an enthusiastic and informative talk by Brijette Peña on "The Magical World of Seeds". Have you grown plants

Dec 1, 2019

SHARING SECRETS: Cut Flowers or Potted Plants?

Which of these do you give more often as a gift: cut flowers or potted flowers/plants?

Nov 1, 2019

SHARING SECRETS: Favorite Garden Bounty Recipes

Our fruit and vegetable gardens can yield an abundance of riches that we love to enjoy right away or preserve for later. Do you have a favo

Oct 1, 2019

SHARING SECRETS: Highly Recommended Plants

What are your top 2 or 3 plants for your location in San Diego, the ones you have the most success with and find yourself recommending to yo

Aug 28, 2019

SHARING SECRETS: Meeting Memories.

Edited by Tina Ivany. In honor of our 25th Anniversary, we first asked our founders and then our members at large: "What is your memory...

Aug 1, 2019

SHARING SECRETS: Non-Kink Hoses

Edited by Tina Ivany. With our driest months coming up, Cheryl Nichols asks: “Is there really such a thing as a non-kink hose?.”...

Jul 1, 2019

SHARING SECRETS: Rain Revelations

Edited by Tina Ivany. Have there been any surprises in your garden after all the rains this year? For example, are there plants in your...

Jun 1, 2019

SHARING SECRETS: Game of Thorns

Edited by Tina Ivany. Are you waging battle against any invasive plants or animals in your garden? How did these intruders come into...

May 1, 2019

SHARING SECRETS: Favorite Garden Art

Edited by Tina Ivany. What is your favorite piece of garden art and how did you acquire it? Linda Canada: A friend made a piece of mosaic...

Apr 1, 2019

SHARING SECRETS: Making Fences a Garden Asset

Edited by Tina Ivany. Small yards, tall wooden fences. What have you discovered that incorporates boundary fences into your garden,...

Mar 1, 2019

SHARING SECRETS: Our Favorite Garden Quotations

Edited by Tina Ivany. Do you have a favorite quotation about gardens or gardening? Robin Shifflet: Here is my favorite Japanese saying...

Feb 1, 2019

SHARING SECRETS: February Bloomers

"It's winter! What's blooming in your garden? Annie Urquhart: Growing chard, spinach and herbs. Started a hydroponics garden, with...

Jan 1, 2019

SHARING SECRETS: Rose Pruning Tips

Winter is rose pruning time in San Diego. I've heard that roses should be cut back to 18" and I've heard that we should keep them around...

Dec 1, 2018

SHARING SECRETS: Holiday Decorations From the Garden

How do you incorporate plants, seeds, and other material from your garden in your holiday decorations? Barb Hunting: I pick pine boughs...

Nov 1, 2018

SHARING SECRETS: Welcoming Wildlife to the Garden

What do you do in your garden to encourage bees, birds, and other wildlife? Diane Kennedy: Here at Finch Frolic Garden, we use no...

Oct 1, 2018

SHARING SECRETS: Lessons Learned in the Summer Garden

As gardeners, we are always learning from our gardens. What did your garden teach you this summer? Linda Chisari: The unusually hot...

Sep 1, 2018

SHARING SECRETS: Garden Visitors

Have you had any fun or surprising non-human visitors to your garden this year? What have you done to encourage—or maybe...

Aug 1, 2018

SHARING SECRETS: Garden and Horticulture Bucket Lists

Edited by Dayle Cheever. What is on your garden or horticulture bucket list? Gerald D. Stewart: There are some elusive things that are on...

Jul 1, 2018

SHARING SECRETS: Discovering New Plants

Edited by Dayle Cheever. Every now and then I find a plant I have not seen before. Recently, it was hummingbird mint (Agastache) and I...

Jun 1, 2018

SHARING SECRETS: Going Grassless With Ground Covers

Edited by Dayle Cheever. In an effort to reduce water use, many of us have eliminated grass. What soft ground covers have you had success...

May 1, 2018

SHARING SECRETS: Bulbs That Surprise and Delight

Edited by Dayle Cheever* and Lisa Marun. I have a collection of reoccurring bulbs in my yard. They always surprise and delight me. Do you...

Apr 1, 2018

SHARING SECRETS: Exciting Spring Smells Waft Through Wide Open Windows…

Edited by Dayle Cheever. What plants are you growing? What is your favorite scent from your garden and why? Exciting spring smells waft...

Mar 1, 2018

SHARING SECRETS: Not-so-shabby Shrubs

Edited by Dayle Cheever. In keeping with our speaker's topic this month, I got to thinking about flowering shrubs. Is there a particular...

Feb 1, 2018

SHARING SECRETS: Oh, Rats!

Edited by Dayle Cheever. In keeping with our pest theme, rats seem to be a particular problem this year. Is there a particular method or...

Jan 1, 2018

SHARING SECRETS: From the Sharing Secrets Archives: Pesky Ants

Edited by Dayle Cheever* and Lisa Marun. We have all taken part at one time or another in the perennial battle between ant and man....

Dec 1, 2017

SHARING SECRETS: Minding the Garden in November

Edited by Dayle Cheever* and Lisa Marun. The question for this month was: Pat Welsh identifies November as the first month of the rainy...

Nov 1, 2017

SHARING SECRETS: Success With Succulents

Edited by Dayle Cheever* and Lisa Marun. The question for this month was: Is there a succulent that you have had particular success with?...

Oct 1, 2017

SHARING SECRETS: Plant Shopping: Our Favorite Haunts (Part Two)

What is your favorite plant source in the local region and why? Have you had any luck ordering plants online and if so, what has worked?...

Sep 1, 2017

SHARING SECRETS: Plant Shopping: Our Favorite Haunts (Part One)

Edited by Dayle Cheever. What is your favorite plant source in the local region and why? Have you had any luck ordering plants online and...

Aug 1, 2017

SHARING SECRETS: Succulents Thrive in Difficult Spots

Edited by Dayle Cheever. Panayoti Kelaidis told us in February that succulents grow in the strangest places—like Germany and the mountain...

Jul 1, 2017

SHARING SECRETS: Summer Edibles

Edited by Dayle Cheever. What summer edibles are you planting this year? Is there anything different or special you do with you summer...

Jun 1, 2017

SHARING SECRETS: 'Found' Objects

Edited by Dayle Cheever. Do you use “found” objects in your garden to show off your plants? Tell us what you use and how you use it....

May 1, 2017

SHARING SECRETS: Spring and Summer Annuals

Edited by Dayle Cheever. Sometimes we just want flowers in our garden, even though they take more water. What annuals are you planning to...

Apr 1, 2017

SHARING SECRETS: Australian Plants

Edited by Dayle Cheever. Our January speaker raved about Australian plants, but sometimes they don’t do so well in San Diego. What...

Mar 1, 2017

SHARING SECRETS: Favorite Garden Tours

Edited by Dayle Cheever. With our spring garden walk season just around the corner, what is your favorite garden walk/tour event and why?...

Feb 1, 2017

SHARING SECRETS: 2017 Resolutions

Edited by Dayle Cheever. What is your 2017 garden resolution and how do you plan to implement it? Vivian Blacky: To prune back heavily...

Jan 1, 2017

SHARING SECRETS: 2017 Resolutions

Edited by Dayle Cheever. Is there a ground cover that you recommend? Please include the conditions that apply (slope, level, or heavily...