Doing the Math for Lawn Watering

Note:  the following was written prior to water rationing.  It is impossible to water a lawn properly under water rationing regulations when, for example, it is illegal to water more than three days ...

Lawn Enhancers

Each spring, I marvel at the emergence of chrome yellow flowers on a large lawn just west of the 405 freeway; it’s at the corner of Mulholland Drive and Casiano Road. This lawn is taken over by...

Dog Friendly Lawns and Plants

This column is dedicated to my dog Sherman, who lived almost 13 years, until he just ran out of gas. Sherman was a black Labrador/border collie mix who had more energy than any dog I have ever seen, ...

Lawn Mushrooms

I am having problems with mushrooms coming up in my north-facing back lawn. There are two kinds: the “toadstool” type and a weird, flat-topped, yellow-tinted, irregular-shaped type. As I ...

When it comes to wildfires, lawns are good

In the wake of our recent fires, I received several e-mails inquiring about the availability of fire-retardant plants. Not too many years ago, a great deal was made of so-called fire-retardant plants...

Firescaping

If you live in the hills or canyons around Los Angeles, expect a fire every 20 to 30 years. Fires are not only inevitable, they are essential to the existence of our chaparral ecosystem. Many chaparr...