What do you get when you cross a carrot with a radish? It might be the turnip, a slightly bitter and peppery root vegetable that ruled European stew pots until the sweeter and prettier carrot came along. Did you know that turnips: Pack more vitamin C than carrots to...
This ancient fruit has so many uses! You can pickle it, dry it, dice it into salads, eat it fresh off the tree, or bake it in a Christmas pie for Little Jack Horner. The plum dates back thousands of years. European plums (Prunus domestica) trace to Western Asia and...
Do you love flowers but hate weeding, watering, and replanting every spring? Native California flowers may be the answer. These drought-tolerant, resilient blooms are perfectly adapted to Southern California’s climate, meaning less water, less effort, and a big...
Do you have an endless appetite for citrus? Then consider the pomelo (Citrus maxima), the world’s largest citrus fruit, sometimes as big as a basketball! Native to Southeast Asia, this grapefruit cousin has thick skin, pale flesh (ranging from yellow to pink),...
Johnny Appleseed spread the gospel of the apple tree along the American frontier, traveling barefoot as far as Indiana and possibly Illinois. He never made it to California, but the apple did, introduced by Spanish missionaries who also grew oranges, olives, grapes,...
Is there a perfect tree for low-effort gardeners? In SoCal, it might be the desert willow, a native plant that manages just fine without help but flourishes with a little TLC — occasional waterings and “haircut” now and then. The desert willow (Chilopsis...
