Back-yard Birding
The cover of the January 2007 issue of Pacific Horticulture featured a female Anna’s hummingbird, in flight, feeding on nectar deep inside a flower …
Topics: Perspectives
Out with the Ivy
The process of ripping out the ivy, creating “structure” on the hillside with rocks, logs, and branches, and selecting, placing, planting, and obs…
Illustrated History of Landscape Design
I wish I had had this book when I was (a) studying world history in high school, (b) studying architectural history in college, (c) lecturing…
Just like Olivier
One of California's top nurserymen and his wife debate the need for summer irrigation in their garden, which is dominated by native plants and those f…
Edible Landscaping
Rosalind Creasy’s first book, The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping, was revolutionary in 1982. Gardens of the Mediterranean have always focused on edibles, and the…
The Marigold in California
Stop a minute and think about the beautiful marigold. There is nothing more joyous and life enhancing than yellow, golden, bronze, or orange marigolds…
Garden Allies: Soil Microorganisms
Just about every available surface under our feet is covered with life; even the thin film of water that coats soil particles and lines pores in the s…
Grow Your Own Vegetables
The first thing I do when perusing a new garden book, no matter what group of plants is featured, is to check for information about…
Life in the Soil: A Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners
I have had a copy of Life in the Soil since it was published, although, to look at it, you might be forgiven for thinking…