Descanso Gardens – The Smarter Gardener

7 Botanical Wonders of Los Angeles (5,6 & 7)

August 15, 2017 no comments

In last week’s column, I mentioned four horticultural marvels: a magnificent Torrey pine in the Mildred Mathias Garden at UCLA, a 700 year old coast live oak at Orcutt Ranch in West Hills, a grove o...

Rest a While in Descanso Rosarium

August 10, 2014 no comments

Gardens are luxury items. To properly care for a garden, you need either leisure time or the means to hire someone to look after it for you. Some people see their garden as nothing more than work and...

Everything You Need to Know About Camellias

February 9, 2014 no comments

In the Valley, camellias do best in a partial sun/light shade exposure. One of the best places in the world to learn about the light and shade requirements of the camellia is at an arboretum right in...

Indian Penicillin and Native Oaks

February 4, 2014 no comments

When you think of Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, camellias, lilacs and roses come to mind. Home to the largest camellia collection in the world, the most extensive lilac planting in Southe...

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

Peruvian Lilies

Japanese Garden in Los Angeles

California Native Ground Covers

Dragon Trees

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

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...