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

Are you longing for a garden that hums with life? My garden reading this winter has been highlighted by California Bees & Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists.  Drawing from years of research at the UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab, the book outlines how to transform an urban or suburban garden into a bee-friendly...Read More

Yesterday my husband and I welcomed over 400 people to our garden, which was one of seven featured on the free, annual South Pasadena Beautiful Garden Tour. Each garden displayed principles of sustainability–including California native and Mediterranean landscaping, planting for wildlife, bioswales, permeable paving options and recycling organic waste. In front of our house was...Read More

When I heard that Catherine Pannell and Robert Waters purchased their home in Downey 38 years ago for its garden potential, I knew they were kindred spirits. Having already gardened extensively with cacti, palms, succulents, fruit trees and more on their original 1/3 acre lot, the couple’s native garden was born when they purchased the...Read More

With the event just a month away, I thought you might enjoy previewing the four beautiful properties on South Pasadena Beautiful’s annual Garden Tour. The gardens are wonderfully diverse, including a playful Mediterranean garden; an informal, primarily native garden; a traditional garden with lovely outdoor rooms; and a very large, meandering “secret” garden. This is...Read More