Few plants can match the canna lily’s bold beauty and long history. This tropical showstopper is a lily only in name — in fact, it’s more closely related to bananas and ginger. Once grown as food in ancient Peru, cannas, with their towering banana-like...
Nothing is quite as satisfying in salad as a kiwi, that tart-sweet, fuzzy-skinned fruit from the faraway land of… wait for it… California. That’s right. More often than not, the exotic kiwifruit at your local SoCal market is grown in the San Joaquin...
The wild ancestor of the cherry tomato originated in the coastal regions of Peru and Ecuador. These tiny, berry-sized fruits were tough and adaptable. Over centuries, wild tomatoes were domesticated and cultivated across Central and South America. Spanish explorers...
The ginger plant (Zingiber officinale) has been cultivated in Southeast Asia for over 3,000 years. It was one of the first spices exported to Europe through trade, prized for its flavor and medicinal uses. Candied ginger was a popular sweet in Europe from the 13th to...
In Greek mythology, Narcissus fell deeply in love with his reflection. Consumed by longing, he wasted away and died by the water’s edge. Such a sad story. Everyone knows a Narcissus or two. You’ll be glad to know that the Narcissus in your SoCal garden...
What do frogs and ranunculus have in common? Probably more than you realize. The name Ranunculus comes from the Latin “rana,” or frog, because many species grow in moist areas where frogs live. Can this showy flower flourish in Southern California’s...
