Thinking about integrating natives in to your garden? Go for it! Some of the benefits include: saving water, lowering maintenance, reducing pesticides and creating a wildlife-friendly garden. Native bees and other California pollinators can improve fruit set, and native birds and insects help keep your garden free of mosquitoes and plant-munching bugs. Gardening with natives also...Read More

Since early February, I’ve been stopping in my tracks to admire the soft pinks and whites of the region’s flowering trees.  When in bloom, they are unbeatable for impact in the garden.  Here are a few options that will have you swooning for many Valentine’s Days to come. (In the coming weeks, keep your eyes...Read More

California natives sometimes get a bad rap for looking “weedy,” but Manzanitas (the common name for the genus Arctostaphylos) are some of the tidiest plants around. With evergreen leaves, gorgeous red bark and tiny bell-shaped flowers, they belong in every garden.  The images below hint at the variety of forms manzanitas can take — small...Read More

With their vivid torch-like blooms and sculptural forms, aloes are jewels of the winter garden in Southern California. Though most of the 300-400 species are indigenous to Africa and Madagascar, and if protected from frost, they thrive in our climate with minimal water or care. In their form, aloes range from clustering — with rosettes...Read More

With much of the country experiencing record-breaking cold, I thought it time to share some of the photos I took during a fall visit to Anglesey Abbey, a  National Trust property in the UK that is renown for its Winter Garden.  Built on the site of a 12th century priory, Anglesey Abbey features 98 acres...Read More