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Dan Vierria

Gardening Columnist

About This Author

As a senior writer for The Sacramento Bee, Dan Vierria covered media, food, restaurants, pop culture/trends and home & garden. Currently, he is a freelance writer, social media page administrator and certified University of California Master Gardener for Sacramento County.

Articles by this author

Growing Pains

Surfing Oahu’s Banzai Pipeline or scaling Annapurna’s summit in Nepal are risky. In Sacramento, gardeners chase another perilous pursuit. They attempt to grow plants that confound and defeat even the greatest gardeners.

Like a quart of milk, we purchase these perplexing plants, and, within a short time, they reach their expiration date. Our response is a tortured moan and mounting frustration.

The truth is that some plants are not suited to local growing conditions or are finicky and high maintenance.

Skinny Delight

In the age of Ozempic and Sono Bello, The Skinny Garden is trendy and unique.

It was always skinny, stretching two football fields along the backside of Sacramento Charter High School in Oak Park. At its skinniest, the ribbon of plants measures 10–12 inches wide and squeezes between a chain-link fence and sidewalk along V Street.

The garden boasts hundreds of perennials, small trees and art. Wood-plank paintings by neighborhood children line the fence, along with decorative framed mirrors and signs to discourage littering and flower picking. Many plants are identified by metal labels, others go unnamed.

Info Woes

Intrepid gardeners venture forth this spring with enthusiasm and confidence that the new growing season will be better than Marie’s Donuts.

Unfortunately, mixed results may be the awful truth. At worst, great expectations of a beautiful garden could shrivel into catastrophic failure. Oof.

Where did we go wrong? In these times of despair, gardeners seek remedies and answers. Be careful where you look. Social media, podcasts and streaming can deliver bad gardening information culled from folklore and misinformation.

Rescue Mission

I cannot repair a modern appliance. Troubleshooting computer problems, reprogramming the home security system and installing child car safety seats stump me. Shameful.

My feeble attempts at Mr. Fix-It are soon abandoned, followed by a call or text to my son or daughter-in-law. It begins with, “Do you know how to…?” When your 8-year-old granddaughter is better at operating the TV remote control, you admit shortcomings.

Plants are my strength. I am a plant rescuer. I can fix a plant, and nurture it to health and long life. Herbaceous or woody, deciduous or evergreen, once a plant enters hospice care, I perform miracles.