Diane Lynch
Background
Contributing columnist Diane Lynch has gardened in Tiburon for more than 35 years and has contributed to The Ark since 2002.
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Ark journalists avoid conflicts of interest, refuse gifts, favors, free travel and special treatment, and correct information throughout the life of a story. Read The Ark’s ethics policy and corrections policy.
Latest from Diane
Bugs, insects, spiders an important part of garden ecosystem
About half of life on earth is concentrated in the insect class, which is in the Arthropod phylum. Insects are characterized by having an exoskeleton, a three-part body, three pairs of jointed legs, a pair of antennae and compound eyes. There are an estimated 6 million to 10 million species, and about a million have been described, meaning that more than 90% of animal forms on earth are insects. Think dragonflies, moths, butterflies, ants, termites, bees, worms, beetles — the list goes on and...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Now’s the time to try these fall-blooming bulbs
Most of us think of bulbs, corms and tubers as spring bloomers. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, grape hyacinths (Muscari) and crocus almost all bloom in spring. But there are autumn-blooming crocuses, for instance, and one of them is where saffron (C. sativus) comes from. Saffron is used to flavor paella, turning the rice a lovely rich gold color, along with other Mediterranean dishes and Indian curries. Each little flower produces three red stigmas, or female parts, and it will take 75,000 of...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Variety of indoor plants can spruce up the home
My garden isn’t heavy on flowers, especially in the winter months. One of the things I missed most during the pandemic was having fresh flowers in the house. I wasn’t comfortable having someone select my flowers for me, so I went without. My son sent me six monthly flower deliveries, which were nice but somewhat monotonous with the same tropical foliage and a few flowers. Houseplants can substitute for flowers and sometimes they’ll rebloom, a nice added benefit. Potted orchids are...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Take care of your tomatoes to ensure bountiful harvest
Your tomato plants are in the ground and starting to grow up. As you anticipate a nice yield late this summer, there are some diseases that could upset your tomato cart. The good news is that tomatoes, especially hybrids, are usually a pretty healthy crop, and some diseases won’t kill the whole plant. For the complete story, pick up this week's edition of The Ark on newsstands or SUBSCRIBE NOW for home delivery.
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Everyday household items can enhance floral arrangements
My garden club kicked off the year with the book “Just Add Water: Easy Techniques & Everyday Ideas for Inspiring Flower Arrangements” and...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Invasives can wreak havoc on the garden
I’m not sure if I’m just seeing my garden with renewed interest or if it really is having a very nice spring, better than many others. I’ve had two amaryllis produce giant blossoms this year and don’t recall them blooming in the past. The nasturtiums decided to clamber up one of my stone pillars and on to the climbing hydrangea, which has produced a couple of blooms for the first time in its 15 years or so in the garden. I ordered it from Heronswood, a nursery in Washington, and it arrived in...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Shelter-in-place allows time to watch garden spring to life
My last foray into the world as we once knew it was a trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show and a visit to New Hope, Penn., to see the ethereal property where George Nakashima lived and created his exquisite furniture. I jettisoned the last half of the trip to come home on March 10 and, due to the coronavirus, have been sheltering in place since. The Philadelphia Flower Show is something to behold and makes a trip to the East Coast worthwhile. Add in the American history aspects of...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Turn to the garden for outdoor time amid coronavirus threat
I came home a week early from a trip to the East Coast, not specifically because of the coronavirus threat, though that was included in...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
You must keep pesky rats at bay to keep a blooming garden
The green gage plum in my tiny garden’s back forty is in full bloom and alive with bees. One day there were so many I thought a swarm was coming through to lite somewhere nearby. Spring is here, and plums are some of the first to bloom. I’m still cleaning up the debris left by the horde of rats that have apparently been emerging from under the decks at night to eat all sorts of things they’ve ignored in winters past. The violets are attempting to bloom despite the fact that most have no...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Start prepping the garden now for a vibrant spring bloom
January is coming to a close, and plants will be leafing out before we know it. The hellebores are just opening up into full bloom. I’m...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Local stores offer unique gifts for any gardener on your list
Every year I take a tour of local nurseries to see what’s out there in the way of interesting items for gardeners. I always spend a lot...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Consider fire risk when selecting plants for garden
Like many in Marin, my mind has been on wildfires and electricity, or lack thereof due to the forced Pacific Gas and Electric Co. outages...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Autumn is a prime time to plant citrus trees on Tiburon Peninsula
If you’ve been thinking of planting a citrus tree, now is a good time to figure out what kind of tree to plant. Fall into winter is the best time to plant, with the hope of capturing some of the winter rains to nurture your new tree. Because the Tiburon Peninsula rarely gets tree-killing frosts, you can expect to be harvesting fruit for many years. A lemon tree will bear all year long. Depending on your available space, you could plant a Lisbon, which can grow to 30 feet, or a variegated...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Some Marin critters can be good for the garden
Marin is awash with critters, or creatures of the night, as I call them. When it gets dark, they come out from under decks and other...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Spring garden duty means protecting geranium from vermin
Something happened in the garden this past winter. The rats have developed a taste for the Geranium maderense cultivar alba, which were...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Grab these gifts for the gardener on your list
Thanksgiving came early this year, and now it’s December and the holidays are upon us. That begs the question: What to get the favorite gardener on your list? Keen gardeners often like unusual plants, cultivars that aren’t found at just any nursery. Bayside Garden Center in Tiburon has many novel plants. A while back, I got an interesting variegated boxwood that has creamy white mixed with just a little green on the leaves. Bayside has beautiful offbeat poinsettias with bracts in mottled...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Maintaining the garden is a labor of love
I’m sure the last article about the evolution of my garden left you thirsty for more information. Over my nearly 21 years in Old Tiburon,...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Garden has evolved with two decades of care
In the past 16 years, my garden has changed a lot. The people who built the house and garden had the idea of a tropical rhododendron garden, sporting palms and banana trees, mixed with some beautiful classic stone walls and columns topped with concrete spheres — presenting several oxymorons, I’d say. The banana trees were at the top of the recirculating stream that runs through the garden and stopped working about 15 years ago, never to be fixed. There were Podocarpus trees that want to be 30...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
Sod taking root on revamped McKegney Field
After several months of preparation, crews recently laid the sod on Tiburon’s McKegney Field as part of the field’s $2.04 million restoration. The sod is like the icing on a cake — and a lot of work went into the cake. First, crews scraped off the old dried-up grass and excavated down several feet. That was followed by several weeks of heavy equipment grading over and over again to get the field just right. A field needs to have a little pitch so it drains but not so much that players are...
By DIANE LYNCH ·
