7 Botanical Wonders of Los Angeles (1,2,3 &4)
7 Botanical Wonders of Los Angeles (1,2,3 &4) If you are considering sights to see during the holidays, I have some suggestions for you. Call them the seven wonders of our local botanical...
7 Botanical Wonders of Los Angeles (5,6 & 7)
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...
History of Snail Problem in California
History of Snail Problem in California If you happen to be a local oenologist — a winemaker, that is — the name of Antoine Delmas could well be near and dear to your heart. If you happe...
Heirloom Tea Roses
It’s really a shame that gardeners, like everyone else, have just one life to live. For focusing on bringing more beauty into the world, you would think that gardeners deserve two or three lives at ...
Biological Control of Snails and Rodents in the Garden
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the European brown garden snail and the damage it does to our plants. I received some noteworthy emails in response. “I was born and grew up in Southern California,” Pat...
What to do About Aging Ivy
“For years ivy has flourished on our hillsides. This year, most of the ivy on the hillsides has died or withered and weeds have overtaking the ivy. The ivy is about 50 years old and receives full...
Ask Me How
Rarely do you encounter someone who is the essence of goodness but Dan McCollister, in my humble opinion, is such a person. There is also an undeniable genuineness about him and the fact that he com...
Australian Natives
If you take a map of the world and draw a horizontal line through Los Angeles, you will eventually reach southwestern Australia. Any plant that grows there can grow here, too. The sea- bordering, s...
Of Cabbages and Kings
“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “To talk of many things: . . . of cabbages and kings.” (from Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll) It is no wonder that cabbages make an appearance ...
Citrus Colors
Did you ever wonder why limes are green and every other type of citrus fruit is either orange or yellow? The reason for this, I recently learned, is that limes (and lime trees) are the most cold sen...