Why does this column show a gasoline-powered blower when these machines have been banned in the City of Santa Barbara since 1997? Why “advertise” this polluting and now-illegal-to-use blower?
—chiwoowa9, online blow-less-hard commenter
A professional gardener in the Santa Barbara region for more than 30 years, Gustavo the Gardenator has lots of tools in his backyard (where this picture was taken). He also works part-time on the weekends for the City of Santa Barbara, so he knows the rules and knows the business. And thanks for the questions, because it’s about time Gustavo schooled us all in the sacred gardening art of leaf blowing.