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 ...
Category Archives: Garden Philosophy
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...
Garden Newsletters (before they disappeared)
Writing a gardening newsletter, apparently, is a little like gardening itself: You are always behind schedule, and your work is never done. Bonnie Blodgett, creator of the Garden Letter, confesses to...
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...
Plants Feed Themselves When the Sun Shines
Gardeners may easily become obsessed with fertilization. Psychologists would explain this phenomenon as an example of projection. Just as we are constantly preoccupied with feeding ourselves, we tend...
Deciduous Trees That Flower Before They Foliate
Deciduous trees that flower each year before they produce leaves bring unique drama to the garden. In Los Angeles, more of these special trees come into bloom in February than in any other month. At ...
