With the proliferation of spring-flowering shrubs and trees, sometimes the trees that flower in the summer can be overlooked. This is too bad because there is quite a selection of summer flowering trees from which to choose. Many people visiting our garden are often surprised to see the […]
Don’t get water on plant leaves in hot, direct sunlight. The droplets can act as magnifying glasses and damage leaf tissues.
Successful gardening always comes back to the basics: soil, sun, oxygen, plants, and, most of all, water. Hand watering is the key to everything in the garden world out West. Get it right and your garden goes crazy. Blow it and plants languish. Water facilitates […]
Cornflower and pot marigold petals are some of the best and brightest for drying.
Flowers are gorgeous in the garden and freshly cut for indoor arrangments, but their benefits go beyond the beauty of the fresh bloom. Dried petals are a wonderful material to have on hand for craft projects and homemade skincare recipes.
I keep a whole collection of jars of different dried petals on hand […]
Rainbow Rhythm® Tiger Swirl is an extra pretty, large-flowered everbloomer. (Image care of Proven Winners)
Daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.) are one of the most welcome flowers of summer, but most bloom for just four to five weeks, some blooming earlier and others later. This is why daylily hybridizers have worked to breed daylilies with longer bloom times. These days, there are more and more great rebloomers on […]
A Palm Springs mid-century modern was restored for climate change using artificial turf and some agaves. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)
In Hollywood’s heyday, stars drove from Los Angeles to the desert resort of Palm Springs to party and tan in the quiet comfort of desert living. The swimming pool came of age here as the focus of every landscape where its year-around usability became integral to […]
Popcorn cassia (Senna didymobotrya) is a tender garden plant for containers and gardens.
Gardeners are just beginning to learn about the benefits of adding bold, golden-flowered sennas to their gardens. These members of the pea family naturally fortify soils with nitrogen in addition to producing large clusters of brilliant gold flowers and lush foliage. They lend tropical good looks to landscapes and beds, and their flowers […]
Potpourri is a mixture of aromatic plant parts that captures the essence of the growing season for yearlong enjoyment. To create your own, gather leaves and petals that are attractive as well as fragrant. Preserve them by thorough drying, and mix them to heighten their aroma and looks.
Potpourri Plants
Dried […]
Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’ is tall, beautiful and blooms effortlessly.
Ask any gardener what their favorite plant is, and you are sure to get multiple answers. Some of my favorites are in the genus Salvia. It offers a wide variety of garden plants with impressive flowers. I have many containers scattered throughout my garden, and there are more pots planted with salvias than any other […]
Desert poppies stay low on windy hilltops.
In the wave of Superbloom in California, a rare wildflower is making a massive appearance. Desert gold poppy (Eschscholzia glyptosperma) is a smaller cousin of the famous California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) because it grows only in the desert. Virtually every aspect of the plant is dwarfed, a natural mechanism for greater efficiency in a very harsh, dry climate.
This year […]
Apothecary or physic gardens contain medicinal plants used to treat all kinds of infirmities. (Image taken at The Met Cloisters by Jessie Keith)
During the Medieval period in Europe, monasteries almost always contained an apothecary garden or “physic garden” that grew medicinal plants used to treat all kinds of infirmities. This age-old tradition of cultivating a garden specifically with healing in mind is easy to replicate […]
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