Fionuala Campion
Fionuala has loved the outdoors her whole life, with her passion for gardening beginning while playing and growing in the childhood gardens of her native Ireland. After moving to California over 30 years ago, she is the owner/manager of Cottage Gardens of Petaluma, a specialty nursery in NorCal. From this platform she shares her love of growing plants and transforming landscapes, while continuing to design and maintain gardens for clients. Having raised four kids with an appreciation for nature and the outdoors, and successfully sent them on their way with remarkable weeding skills, Fionuala now lives in the countryside of Petaluma with her dogs, hens, ducks and heritage hogs.
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Northern California Regional ReportsEvergreen Ground Covers for Shade in Northern California
Create an easy-care tapestry of color and texture in your shade garden, and keep pesky weeds at bay at the same time! These shade-loving, evergreen ground-huggers are all easy to…
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Northern California Regional ReportsPest Control for Northern California: Rose Slugs
Although they resemble miniature slugs, rose slugs are not true slugs at all. They’re the larval stage of the European sawfly (Endelomyia aethiops), a small, rather innocent-looking flying insect. European…
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Northern California Regional ReportsNorthern California September Garden To-Do List
With days getting shorter and an occasional touch of morning chill in the air, September begins to feel like fall. In both the ornamental and the edible garden, it's time…
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Northern California Regional ReportsCarefree Climbing Roses for a Northern California Garden
Climbing roses (Rosa spp. and cvs., Zones 3–9) add color, beauty, and vertical interest to your garden. They can transform bare walls, fences, pergolas, tuteurs, and obelisks into showy, bloom-filled…
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Northern California Regional ReportsWind-Tolerant Plants for Northern California
Gardening in a windy, exposed area can be a challenge. Luckily, some plants are not only impervious to the effects of gusts or breezes but will react in such a…
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Northern California Regional ReportsThe Best Warm-Season Veggies for Container Gardening in Northern California
Some of us veggie gardeners are blessed with several acres, but some of us have smaller yards to work with. Some of us may even be limited to just a…
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Northern California Regional ReportsGrowing Rhododendrons in Northern California
Rhododendrons (Rhododendron spp. and cvs., Zones 4–9) are colorful, ornamental woody plants that are most at home in damp climates with mild temperatures. The Rhododendron genus is a large one,…
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How-ToThese Shears Are an Essential for Tidying Your Garden
My medium-duty bonsai thinning shears from Joshua Roth (model #133) are the best all-around snipping shears I’ve ever used and might be the most-loved and most-used gardening tool that I…
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Northern California Regional ReportsFirescaping in Northern California
"Fire season" is a reality for Northern California gardeners beginning in late summer through fall, with fire concerns mounting steadily each year. Wildfires threaten—and sometimes consume—wildlands, farmlands, and homes. Though…
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Northern California Regional ReportsGrowing Potatoes in Northern California
Homegrown potatoes are delicious, easy to grow, packed with nutrition, and so much fun to harvest! Read on for tips on how to grow them as well as my recommendations…
