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UC Gardening Blogs
Diversity of Arachnids to be Showcased at Briggs Hall During UC Davis Picnic Day
The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology will not only celebrate insect and...
UC Davis doctoral student Emma Jochim discusses arachnids at a Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. She'll be showing the diversity of arachnids at Briggs Hall during UC Davis Picnic Day on Saturday, April 20, with colleagues. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Grubs in your garden?
While preparing your garden for planting this spring, you may have found white grubs in the soil....
UC Davis Picnic Day: The Art of Fly-Tying
Ever seen an angler tie a fly? You will if you visit Briggs Hall during the 110th annual UC Davis...
A display by the Fly Fishers of Davis at a recent UC Davis Picnic Day. The Fly Fishers are an integral part of the insect activities at Briggs Hall, home of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The art of tying a fly by the Fly Fishers of Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
At the end of a mini-session with Paul Berliner (right) of the Fly Fishers of Davis, it's family photo time. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Maggot Art Always Draws a Crowd at UC Davis Picnic Day
When the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology hosts its "bug activities" at Briggs Hall...
Maggot art in the making at a UC Davis Picnic Day event at Briggs Hall. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Memories of Karen in My Garden
Karen Norton, my neighbor and friend, passed away peacefully at midnight after a brief illness. It seemed fitting to her master gardener friends that today is National Gardeners' Day. Karen was a very nice neighbor, veteran master gardener, and accomplished ceramist and art teacher. One of the things I will miss about her are the most enjoyable garden-themed ceramics classes she would hold in her garage studio twice a year.
When Karen put out an email re: a future class, if you were lucky enough to be on her mailing list, it was imperative to reply immediately. Her classes would fill within minutes. Even when I was late however, Karen always managed to fit me in. She even allowed me to invite my friends if she had space.
I really looked forward to her classes. They would always begin with a stroll around her gorgeous garden for inspiration. The first picture shows my leaf wreath, where I picked leaves in her garden that were then rolled onto the prepared clay, cut and affixed to the wreath form.
Karen's classes were so enjoyable partly because she greatly minimized the opportunities for mistakes by her students. Karen prepared and rolled out the clay herself beforehand, so we never had air bubbles in our clay (or resulting explosions in the kiln).
Drawing and painting seem to come naturally to me. But not so with ceramics. Karen was an unfailingly patient and helpful teacher, and never ever rolled her eyes at my many flubs. Thanks to her, every project of mine was a success and I love them all!
After the projects were glazed and fired, Karen would have an unveiling where we would "ooh" and "aah" over our beautiful work, followed by a potluck lunch in her lovely home.
RIP Karen. I will miss your friendship, and your ceramics classes. Have a wonderful time growing and tending your heavenly garden where everything blooms and nothing dies, until we meet again.
On the left, koi fish created by Karen that I purchased and gave my husband for Christmas. On the right, my scalloped pocket for succulents just planted today, to be hung on the fence.
Two flowers, the left made by Karen, and the right made by me.
