Primrose Jasmine, Thickets, Cherimoyas

The more I learn about primrose jasmine, the more I like it.  This time of year, it’s nice to look at, too.  Long shoots are bedazzled with butter yellow blooms.  Primrose jasmine will cover a ...

The Quotable Gardener

I recently derived much pleasure from “The Quotable Gardener,” by Kathy Ishizuka (McGraw-Hill; $14.25), which contains quotations from all types of gardeners, from Sir Francis Bacon to Ma...

Feng Shui in the Garden

Can you imagine being able to determine the personalities, frustrations and ambitions of your neighbors by the selection and arrangement of plants growing in their front yards? If you study feng shui...

Intuition Is Key to Growing Plants

Los Angeles horticulturist Bill Paylen will tell it to you bluntly. Making flora flourish has nothing to do with how learned you are or how much money you spend on a particular plant. Nor does it hav...

G-d Withholds Rain to Make Us Pray

Two enormous blessings were bestowed upon Los Angeles this winter and spring. First, the value of real estate appreciated significantly. Second, the rains of El Nino gave incredible life to our plant...

Love-Hate Relationships

Your relationships with plants, like those with people, may undergo radical changes with time. Plants that you thought were the most beautiful on earth when you started gardening may look far less at...

Passover Trees

The commemoration of the exodus from Egypt, to be celebrated on Passover, which begins at sundown Friday, is associated closely with the arrival of spring. The transition from slavery to freedom is n...