Garden Philosophy – Page 2 – The Smarter Gardener

Spring Is Sooner Recognized by Plants Than People

December 3, 2013 no comments

Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by people, the Chinese proverb goes. Unless, you could add, those people live in Southern California. By February, if not sooner, gardeners already are digg...

On Good Land

December 4, 2013 no comments

Although we live in a world where loud, relentless self-promotion is the only sure way of being noticed, there will never be anything more magnificent to behold than quiet devotion. In the garden, su...

Air Brushed Plants

December 4, 2013 no comments

Of seed catalogs it could be said: “Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.” The intolerable aspect of seed catalogs is their pretense to perfection. You are shown pict...

When the Elite Dig in the Dirt . . .

December 1, 2013 no comments

“Dirt” (Dell Publishing; $18.95) is a book that says as much about the trendy crowd for whom it was written as it does about plants. ”Mine is the fast-lane, quick-gratification appr...

Urban Farming and Self-Sustaining Gardens

December 3, 2013 no comments

Yes, it’s easiest to put grass clippings by the curb for the city to haul away. But if you really want to beautify Los Angeles – and your own yard – you can recycle the clippings by...

Turn the Valley into One Enormous Garden

November 18, 2013 no comments

There is a question as to whether gardeners are born generous or become generous through gardening, but one fact is indisputable: Gardeners are among the most generous people on earth. If your neighb...

Earthquakes & Sustainability

November 15, 2013 no comments

At a garden I visit every day, an arbor festooned with hanging baskets lies prostrate on the ground, felled by Monday’s earthquake; a few feet away, roses glisten in the morning sun. The glory ...

Fertility Plants

November 4, 2013 no comments

Every subject under the sun can be found in the Bible – even aphrodisiac and fertility-enhancing plants. In Genesis, Reuben goes into the wheat fields at harvest time and finds mandrake plants,...

Getty Center Rooftop Garden

October 29, 2013 no comments

The new Getty Museum complex, rising atop the San Diego Freeway south of Mulholland Drive, will contain a 60,000-square-foot garden and an expansive rooftop, succulent garden. This is not a coinciden...

Life is too short when it comes to plants

October 24, 2013 no comments

The moment you open “Flora,” a plant encyclopedia, you will realize that life is just not long enough to plant everything your heart desires. You may also conclude that this is the last ...

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A Glimpse of Paradise

Visitng Sherman Gardens is like spending time in a great museum. After an hour or so, you reach a saturation point and sigh, “There are just too many treasures to absorb in a single visit. I’ll just have to come back again to fully appreciat...

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There is a certain plant that has remarkable strength. I always think of an ox when reading about it or hearing its name and for an obvious reason: it’s called oxalis. Yet the etymology of oxalis has nothing to do with an ox. The word is derived f...

A Living Fence of Pyracantha

I’m looking for some kind of bush or shrub or vine that will help to create a security barrier over a 3 foot high chain link fence, that will grow to around 5 or 6 feet or so, will look decent maybe with some nice blooms and if I’m lucky I can get aw...

A Living Fence of Pyracantha

Larkspur/Annual Delphinium

Red Monkey Flower

Red monkey flower (Diplacus puniceus) is an evergreen perennial that you ignore all year long for the sake of its arresting spring bloom, although it may flower on and off throughout the year. Water it more than once a month — even in fast-dra...