During my walks around the city of South Pasadena, I frequently come across new low water-use, native plant landscapes that I have not seen before. Surprised, I ask myself, “When […]
native grasses
My tips on growing natives in containers
I want to start this post by stating the obvious: the following tips are things that I do to grow plants in containers. Some of my suggestions are not conventional, […]
Life stages of a native plant garden
Gardens, like people, have life stages. In the beginning, they grow vigorously, even rampantly. Maybe the first year or two seems a bit slow for a new native plant garden. […]
Dividing Deergrass
The nature park anniversary celebration is over. Yay! The plant sale is over. Yay! And the weather is perfect for gardening, cool and overcast. YAY! As I walk around the […]
CNPS PLANT SALE, Nov. 8th at Eaton Canyon Nature Center
This year the plant sales were early. Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, which for years and years held its sale on the first weekend in November, jumped to the head […]
Disappearing lawn
A month ago when we had just returned from India, I was sitting in my office looking out the window at the front lawn. The grass on the east side […]
Santa Rosa Plateau
Forty days until we are up in the air flying 10,250 miles from Los Angeles to Mumbai. I am feeling homesick already, but up for the adventure. To enjoy the […]
In the beginning
In the heat of the summer of 1999 I take pieces of scrap paper and sketch the long, narrow parkway bed on the east side of our corner lot. It […]
Front Parkway (Part 3)
Looking back at the October posts I wrote on the front parkway project, I am feeling good about how things are progressing. On October 19th , the weedy grass in […]
Front Parkway (continued)
The front parkway project continues, while I try to figure out exactly what I want. I have tossed around lots of ideas, such as: Striking, architectural succulents. A kind of […]