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 ...
Category Archives: Perennials
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...
The Price of Bringing Nature Close to Home
I wondered if you could give me your opinion about our deodar cedar tree and whether it is safe to keep it. I love the tree. It’s beautiful, but it is very close to the house/roof so I feel l...
Queensland Poplar and other Botanical Treasures
For years, I had seen this unexpected botanical treasure pop up in gardens and always wondered about it. I enjoyed gazing at its heart-shaped leaves and red petioles (leaf stems) but was forever bef...
Caper Bushes: Extraordinary Drought Tolerance
The sizzling heat we have just experienced may leave you wondering if there is anything, except for cactus, bougainvillea, and certain native plants, that can survive such weather without serious pam...
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...
Texas Ranger and Firecracker Plant Defy Nature
It would be dereliction of duty on my part not to mention two plants, blooming now in all their glory, that defy the hottest weather with an outrageously floriferous late summer display. You look at...
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...
