On the day-to-day, not much thought may be given to the bee. In fact, many, such as myself, may assume that a bee’s sole purpose is to create honey. But in reality, there are 1600 species of bees in California alone—many of which do not create honey, but are vital to the California landscape. The...Read More

We often have the pleasure of being invited back by clients to review the landscape we’ve designed, especially in the first few years. Usually on our visits, the plants are thriving, and all is well. We have designed your garden to be in harmony with our climate, using trees, shrubs, perennials and succulents either native...Read More

Drought is normal for Southern California, but many of our public and commercial spaces are landscaped with water-thirsty plants. To help create more climate resilient landscapes, our office worked with South Pasadena Beautiful to design a new sustainable low-water garden at the South Pasadena Post Office. The project will unfold in two phases, dying trees...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