Yucca, Tangerine, and Hellebore
What do a yucca tree, a tangerine tree, and a hellebore have in common? Not much, really, except that, if you live in the San Fernando Valley, you can grow all three of them in your own backy...
Category Archives: Drought Tolerant
Goodbye Stocks, Hello Exotics
If you visit Worldwide Exotics Nursery in Lakeview Terrace, I promise that you will encounter numerous plants that you have never seen before and will probably never see again, unless you take...
From Geraldton Waxflower to Peppermint Tree
Not far from Van Nuys Airport on Sherman Way Boulevard, west of Rubio Avenue, one of the most brilliantly flowering plants for Valley gardens, although inexplicably absent from most of them, is thriv...
Gravelscaping & The Emperor’s New Clothes
“To Create a Garden is to search for a better world. In our effort to improve on nature, we are guided by a vision of paradise. Whether the result is a horticultural masterpiece or only a modes...
Don’t Forget to Notice the Natives
You know you’re getting old when time worn clichés begin to ring true. One of those clichés admonishes us: “don’t forget to stop and smell the roses,” to which I would add, “and don’t forget to stop...
‘Barely Boysenberry’, Double Orange Daylily, and Other Del...
While I was at a home improvement center this afternoon, I was taken by a 12 inch potted plant called Anisodontea ‘Barely Boysenberry.’ The garden person told me it was a perennial bush and would gro...
A New Year’s Gift
Considering the time of year, you may have recently received a gift or two but, if you didn’t get what you wanted, you might yet fulfill your horticultural heart’s desire with a visit to ...
Low Maintenance, Drought Resistant Shrubs
Summer is the season to appreciate the distinctive floral gifts provided by Cassia and Caesalpinia (sez-al-PIN-ee-uh) shrubs. These heat-loving genera are drought-tolerant members of the legume famil...
Los Angeles & Jerusalem
I recently arrived in Jerusalem, whose garden plants are strongly reminiscent of those found in Los Angeles. The climate in both cities is Mediterranean, meaning precipitation is confined to winter m...
Once Plants Mature, They Become Drought Tolerant
There are certain garden occurrences – you might call them acts of God – that just happen, leaving you suddenly wiser about plants. Frequently enough, a volunteer seedling emerges and is ...
