No such thing as an old gardener
Dorothy Adams of Burbank wrote me a letter, which she signed “An old gardener.” She has a question about pruning azaleas and camellias and one plaintive request: “Tell us something ...
Category Archives: Urban Gardening
Plants for any Kind of Soil
Like people who keep up their good spirits no matter where life takes them, plants with the greatest flowering capacity are not particular about the ground – or the soil – in which they a...
Community Garden Riches
The other day, while visiting a community garden, I was admiring an immaculate plot of cabbages and chard when a woman, whose adjacent plot was less tidy, engaged me in conversation. “Some gard...
Loss of Pierce College Farmland
IT is startling and heartbreaking, a sign of callousness and backwardness, that at this late date, on the cusp of the 21st century, people would consider commercial development of 240 open acres R...
Dog Compatible Lawns and Plants
Many neighborhood dogs are destroying our front grass. Do you know any variety of grass or plant we could put down so they won’t find this area attractive? Would prefer not to, but next step is...
How to Make Your Own Wine
Winemaking in Woodland Hills? Why not? Grapevines can be grown almost anywhere, including Woodland Hills, which has the highest recorded temperatures in the summers and lowest in the winters in Los A...
Leave Fallen Leaves Alone
In our city, one of the reasons people create gardens or buy houses with back yards is to stake out a quiet retreat from the noisy world around them. Some might argue that this is an absurd idea, tha...
Firescaping
If you live in the hills or canyons around Los Angeles, expect a fire every 20 to 30 years. Fires are not only inevitable, they are essential to the existence of our chaparral ecosystem. Many chaparr...
Gas Station Gardens
Someday, when historians look back at the waning years of the 20th century, the gas station garden may well be regarded as the quintessential artifact of our times. Gas station gardens, consisting of...
Observing Life, As Opposed to Living It
“People who enjoy growing herbs or perennials are forever touting it to anyone who will listen. I listen politely, but I’m not converted. I would rather be taking a shower.” Thus st...
