croton – The Smarter Gardener

Living Art

June 15, 2017 2 comments

Gerda Maxey is an artist in the truest sense. As you tour her home and garden in Sylmar, you appreciate Maxey’s need to be surrounded by art, both indoors and out. Maxey is a portraitist and her w...

Splurge with Spurge

August 3, 2014 no comments

The sun-loving equivalent of baby’s tears, it grows rampantly and, left unchecked, will take over every bare spot of garden earth within a week or two. Spotted prostrate spurge takes over just ...

Recent Posts

A Glimpse of Paradise

Visitng Sherman Gardens is like spending time in a great museum. After an hour or so, you reach a saturation point and sigh, “There are just too many treasures to absorb in a single visit. I’ll just have to come back again to fully appreciat...

Why not to Plant Magnolias and Jacarandas

Peruvian Lilies

Japanese Garden in Los Angeles

California Native Ground Covers

Dragon Trees

Oxalis: Strong as an Ox, Sour as a Lemon

There is a certain plant that has remarkable strength. I always think of an ox when reading about it or hearing its name and for an obvious reason: it’s called oxalis. Yet the etymology of oxalis has nothing to do with an ox. The word is derived f...

A Living Fence of Pyracantha

I’m looking for some kind of bush or shrub or vine that will help to create a security barrier over a 3 foot high chain link fence, that will grow to around 5 or 6 feet or so, will look decent maybe with some nice blooms and if I’m lucky I can get aw...

A Living Fence of Pyracantha

Larkspur/Annual Delphinium

Red Monkey Flower

Red monkey flower (Diplacus puniceus) is an evergreen perennial that you ignore all year long for the sake of its arresting spring bloom, although it may flower on and off throughout the year. Water it more than once a month — even in fast-dra...