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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

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Petunias! A Shopping Success Story. Sheltering at Home Week 21

August 2, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

pink-purple-yellow-petunias
Pink, yellow and purple petunias — on our patio, ready for planting.

August 1, 2020. Sheltering at Home (With Petunias) Week 21

I did it. I went shopping.

The plant nursery down the hill was open and thriving. It felt pretty safe to go there. Everybody was wearing masks. The shopping carts were getting wiped down with bleach. And there were beautiful things to buy: asparagus ferns, rows and rows of succulents, a six-foot Japanese maple. And a shelf of gloriously humble petunias.

Petunias have a special place in my garden memories. My Aunt Dickie used to grow them on her porch in long planter boxes. My cousin Jeanie and I would pull the petals from their base and suck the nectar out the bottom. Dickie would scold us, but only half-heartedly. I suspect she did the same thing as a kid.

Fans of art and flowers will enjoy the photos at “The de Young Museum This Week: Bursting With Art and Flowers.”  For wildflowers, go to “At Pt. Reyes: Wild Flowers — And Animals Wild and Tame.”  

My first shopping expedition of the coronavirus shut-down was not so successful.

petunias plant-nursery-open-during-COVID-shut-down
The Broadway Terrace Nursery  in Oakland was open for business last week. I bought petunias, but I’d like to go back for some of these succulents.
pink-petunia-blossoms
The pink petunias I bought are thriving in our garden. . .
wilting-purple-petunia
. . . but the purple petunias are wilting a bit. Did I wait too long to put them into the ground? I gave them water and they are starting to revive.

The newcomers to our garden took a bit of a beating when the sprinklers came on. Hopefully, they will recover OK.

Filed Under: My Ever-Changing Family, Sheltering at Home Chronicles

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

A Case of the Human Condition: When Your Six-Year-Old Wants to Talk Money

A six-year-old talks money. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Our 6-year-old wanted an allowance. Jon and I debated: 50 cents a week? 75? “Let’s not talk in cents,” said Peter. “Let’s talk in dollars.” Read more.

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