Orchard Trees of Rancho El Cerrito: Oranges
The primary orchard at Rancho Los Cerritos, in Long Beach, California, was designed by Ralph D Cornell in 1931, as part of an estate plan commissioned…
Topics: Gardens & Design
From Yard to Garden: The Domestication of America’s Home Grounds
“It is a curious phenomenon, however, that home grounds have been popularly linked in the public mind to horticulture and gardening because, when one looks…
The Native Gardener’s Paintbox: Pink Moments
The many shades of pink are particularly effective when paired with sage green, gray green, and silvery foliage—colors that are plentiful in the Cal…
Garden Allies: Earthworms
Gardeners now hold earthworms in high regard, but even so, few of us understand the full scope of their role, not only in the garden, but in field and…
Rockroses for Northwest Gardens
Most Northwest gardeners are familiar with rockrose (Cistus spp.), one of the plants well-suited for use in the drier garden. Cistus make up a diverse…
2009 Great Plant Picks: The Short and Tall of It
The Great Plant Picks additions for 2009 include a variety of groundcovers, late flowering shrubs, selections from the sedum trials, and a host of urb…
Seeing by Experiencing: The Central Garden at the Getty Center
From that day on, the Central Garden at the Getty Center owned me, and I owned the garden; that is, I awakened to the kinesthetic and sensual experien…
A Small Urban Native Wildflower Garden
The California native section of my garden began in 1990, in an area of Palo Alto known for its collection of one-story, mid-50s modernist homes. At f…
The Ruth Risdon Storer Garden: Evolution of a Valley-Wise Garden
Since it was first planted in 1980, the Ruth Risdon Storer Garden at the western end of the UC Davis Arboretum has been a beautiful place where home g…