Fragrance in the Wild Western Garden: Philadelphus
Toward the realization of a truly interesting, fragrant garden in the American West, Philadelphus is one of the genera with the most to offer. Western…
Regions: Southern California
So. Cal
A Sun-Drenched Garden in Upland
The afternoon breeze sweeping along the San Gabriel Mountains is rustling the leaves in Jan Smithen’s extraordinary mediterranean garden. Looking ou…
Some Plant Introductions from the Huntington Botanical Gardens
The Huntington Botanical Gardens introduces or promotes new or little-known plants in a variety of ways, including through its plant sales and by part…
Garden Allies: Hover Flies
Meet the Hover Flies If you have ever paused near a patch of cosmos on a sunny summer afternoon, you are certainly familiar with the…
Our Plant Collection Is for the Birds (and Butterflies)
Can a plant collection also be a wildlife garden? Yes it can! And, be it big or small, a wildlife garden can also be a plant collection. Our Bird and …
Hellebores in Southern California
I’ve now graduated to the next level of hellebore “plant lust.” I want to grow more of the selections with beautiful dark purple or spotted flow…
David Austin’s English Roses for the West Coast
David Austin's English Roses have been in America for more than twenty years. One of the first areas to grow them was California, where two people wer…
Not Your Mother’s Hellebores: A New Look at Species and Hybrid Hellebores
Who could fail to be seduced by hellebores? Their precocious nature is part of their allure, but what makes them so much more than alluring? For many,…
Second Spring
I used to think of plants that bloomed in fall as freaks of nature and confusers of seasons. My aesthetic image of autumn didn’t include the pastel …