Lawn Substitute – The Smarter Gardener

White Carpet Myoporum and Indestructible Kikuyu

August 8, 2014 5 comments

No doubt you have seen a “Baby on Board” sign in the rear window of a car at one time or another. This sign, it would appear, is meant to alert other drivers to the possibility of unpredictable behin...

Dwarf Pink Yarrow as Lawn Substitute

November 7, 2013 6 comments

Q: We have Marathon tall fescue grass in our rear yard that has never done well, possibly due to two Dobermans. However, they are much calmer now that they are older and won’t be around forever...

Lawn Substitute: California Meadow Sedge

October 29, 2013 no comments

With the forecast of yet another dry winter, the idea of creating landscapes without lawns is news once again. Lawns guzzle water without conscience as compared to many water-thrifty perennials and g...

Recent Posts

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...

Why not to Plant Magnolias and Jacarandas

Peruvian Lilies

Japanese Garden in Los Angeles

California Native Ground Covers

Dragon Trees

Oxalis: Strong as an Ox, Sour as a Lemon

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...