Green—in Beverly Hills?
My grandmother’s adage “Use it up, wear it out, make it do” might not seem like a mantra that most of Beverly Hills would adopt. But award the c…
Plants: Flowering plants, vines, and bulbs
A Half-Century of Camellias Find a New Home
To move a collection of this age and size, we needed to find a location for the camellias in a relatively similar microclimate, to minimize any post-t…
Thistle Lovers All: The Cobwebby Thistle as Habitat
The beautiful cobwebby thistle (Cirsium occidentale) is nearing the end of its life cycle in my Novato garden. It’s almost June, and I watch as the …
Lessons from the NPA Borders: Spring Tasks
Early spring is a good time for a stroll around the Northwest Perennial Alliance Borders at the Bellevue Botanical Garden. A visit will not only offer…
Garden Allies: Braconid Wasps
Several wasp families include species that attack aphids. The small, non-stinging wasps in the family Braconidae include aphid parasitoids, as well as…
It’s My Garden, and I’ll Try If I Want To!
We are all beginners, because our curiosity pushes us from one stage of gardening into new and unfamiliar territory, and, suddenly, we start learning …
Houses of Los Angeles
The purpose of Sam Watters’s monumental tome was to document the grand estates built in the Los Angeles area between 1885 and 1935. In the…
Gardens Tell the Other Story of Alcatraz
For more than a century, gardens were an important part of everyday life on Alcatraz. Planted by successive waves of island inhabitants, from soldiers…
Winter Delights in the Garden: Flowers
Winter is a special time to have blossoms around us, and several flowering trees and shrubs can be recommended for their ease of care and permanence i…