Let it Grow, Just Let it Grow
I am especially captivated by plants which, water thrifty in any case, are positively drought resistant when allowed to grow out naturally in an untrimmed state, remaining more or less water deprived...
Category Archives: Flowers
Fragrant Plant List
Fragrant Citrus Flowers “ I have two citrus trees and absolutely love the scent of citrus blooms. Do you know of any vines or other plants that produce this incredible scent but aren’t fruit b...
What Makes a Plant Beautiful?
What Makes a Beautiful Plant What makes a plant beautiful? Well, yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and every plant, like every person, has attractive features to be sure. But after several de...
Duranta and other Hedges
Duranta, even though it is commonly known as sky flower, is not named after Kevin Durant, a 7 foot tall basketball player who launches himself skyward on a regular basis. Indeed, the notoriety of Dur...
What You Have Never Seen Before and Will Never See Again
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...
Elephant’s Foot, Lisianthus, and 100 year old Lilies
Loren Zeldin calls me and says I must come by right away and take a look at his elephant’s foot. No, Zeldin does not work for a zoo or a circus, and he does not have an ailing elephant. He has not mi...
Kalanchoe, ka-lan-KO-ee, ka-lan-CHO-ee
The name Kalanchoe — pronounce it either ka-lan-KO-ee or ka-lan-CHO-ee and you’ll be just fine — may sound strange and foreboding and, if truth be told, some of the plants included in thi...
7 Botanical Wonders of Los Angeles (5,6 & 7)
In last week’s column, I mentioned four horticultural marvels: a magnificent Torrey pine in the Mildred Mathias Garden at UCLA, a 700 year old coast live oak at Orcutt Ranch in West Hills, a grove o...
Heirloom Tea Roses
It’s really a shame that gardeners, like everyone else, have just one life to live. For focusing on bringing more beauty into the world, you would think that gardeners deserve two or three lives at ...
7 Plant Wonders of Los Angeles
Below is a list of what are, in my humble opinion, the seven wonders of the Los Angeles plant world, as well as some honorable mentions. 1. I initially thought of making such a list many years ago w...
