Everything You Need to Know About Jasmine
When it comes to plants, none conjures up more pleasant associations than jasmine. Jasmine. Just say the word and you are transported to a faraway, exotic, sweet-smelling garden hideaway. Funny thing...
Category Archives: Best Garden Plants
Pansies Perk Up in June Gloom
June gloom may dampen the spirits of certain Angelenos, but it’s great weather for gardeners and their plants. It’s nice to be able to plant, prune and weed without working up a sweat. Ce...
Jacaranda and Other Mauve/Blue/Purple Blooms
In the Valley, no botanical event is more delightful and defining than the hazy mauve-blue bloom of jacaranda trees, a sure sign that summer has unofficially arrived. In the forests of Brazil, Argent...
Lion’s Ear, Lion’s Tail, Wild Dagga
The Earl of Orange. Lion’s tail and lion’s ear. Wild dagga. Leonotis Leonurus. Strange names invariably provoke curiosity about a plant’s appearance and qualities. As to the impact ...
Beautiful Hebe Jeebies
For more than 15 years I had been watching them, those demure shrubs with decorous leaves yet few, if any, flowers. In truth, even the leaves had problems, as new shoots would die back the moment the...
Hydrangeas: Classic Garden Plants
Is there anyone who does not like hydrangeas? These perennials have probably the largest sphere-shaped flower clusters in the botanical world. The blooming globes are up to half a foot in diameter, a...
Consider Coreopsis
Among discerning Los Angeles gardeners, “Moonbeam” coreopsis could soon become enormously popular as a ground cover. Generally, discerning gardeners are reluctant to plant ground covers. ...
Succulent Color for Low Light Conditions
Impatiens – that multicolored staple of the shade garden – finally has some competition. Actually, this competitor has been around for some time, but has not been promoted as a bedding pl...
Loren Zeldin is Attached to his Garden
Loren Zeldin has lived in the same house in Reseda for all of his 43 years. As time passes, the possibility of his moving somewhere else becomes increasingly remote. The reason for this has to do wit...
A Festival of Ferns
If you are thinking of planting a shade garden but are looking for something more profound than impatiens and begonias, something lasting and exotic, consider ferns. There are shrub ferns and tree fe...
