TreePeople
You might think of TreePeople as an organization whose sole mission is to plant more trees in Los Angeles. While that may have been true when the organization was founded four decades ago, and TreePe...
Category Archives: Urban Gardening
Artichokes
If you live in Los Angeles, you don’t have to travel far to find an artichoke farm. There’s a big one on Las Posas Road, near Malibu, on the edge of a fertile valley that stretches betwee...
When Italian Cypress Branches Bend . . .
Our very heavy snowstorm last month loaded and bent the branches of all of the Italian cypress trees encircling the backyard. The trees have grown very tall. However, they look quite grotesque and br...
Kohlrabi
Q: I love kohlrabi. I use it in soups and enjoy it as a raw vegetable snack. Last year, I bought a six-pack container of seedlings and planted them in my front yard, where they grew to maturity. This...
Japanese Gardens: Junipers & Their Relatives
Two gardening questions received by e-mail toward the end of 2001 may stimulate creative horticultural thinking for 2002. Q: I want to plant a garden but cannot afford to spend a lot of time or money...
Turn the Valley into One Enormous Garden
There is a question as to whether gardeners are born generous or become generous through gardening, but one fact is indisputable: Gardeners are among the most generous people on earth. If your neighb...
Top 1% of December Plants
The occupiers have left Zuccotti Park, but the ornamental kale remains. Zuccotti Park is actually not a park at all but a small plaza of polished stone and marble. I recently happened to visit Wall S...
A Short History of the Hass Avocado
Q: We have saved the seeds of some exceptionally good supermarket tangerines recently whose label says “FLORIDA – Sunburst.” If we were to plant the seeds, would we get trees that w...
Soak Soil, Mulch, and Don’t Water Until Spring
There are years when – with evenly spaced rainfall and cool winter temperatures – it is possible to stop watering a Valley garden in early December and completely forget about hoses until...
How To Turn Acorns Into Oak Trees
As daylight hours are reduced in the last days of December, gardening may be the last thing on your mind. But with the help of some Styrofoam cups and a little soil mix, you can start many plants ind...
