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...

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...

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. ...

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...