Peruvian Lilies

If ground cover selections in Southern California were confined to Peruvian lilies (Alstroemeria), I would not have a problem with that.  There are Peruvian lily cultivars in every color except blue ...

California Native Ground Covers

This spring’s flowers – there are just so many of them — cannot be compared to those of any spring in recent memory. Perennial plants native to dry climates – and most of the woody and herbaceo...

Monocarpic Plants

For those of you who are into botanical trivia, see if you can answer the following existential (having to do with life and death) question: What do carrots, radishes, lettuce, agaves, fishtail palms...

Perfumed Hydrangeas and Other Delights

Kate Karam says she has the greatest job in the world.  Karam edits newsletters and authors a blog for Monrovia Nursery, in addition to dialoguing with people in the media about what the world’s larg...

Fleru-de-lis is Really an Iris

When the mob overthrew the monarchy during the French Revolution, one of the first acts of the new governing authority was to remove the flower that had been visible for centuries on flags, shields, ...

‘Mona Lavender’ is Close to Perfect

“My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky.” This uninhibited and passionate confession was penned by William Wordsworth, a British poet, in 1802. The world has certainly changed in the in...