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...
Young George Washington never chopped down a cherry tree. An early biographer fabricated the story — a lie to illustrate Washington’s love of the truth. Washington was a Virginian, and Virginia was a prime area for cherry cultivation at the time. But the trees...
Georgia is the Peach Tree State. Everywhere you turn, there’s a Peachtree avenue, shopping center, medical building, school, and so on. Meanwhile, the Golden State contributes about 80% of the US peach harvest. Southern California’s Mediterranean climate...
Gardening in Southern California is a year-round activity, thanks to mild winters, hot summers, and varied microclimates. However, in some areas, the soil may work against you. The Los Angeles Basin features soils like the Chino Association, a gray, calcareous silt...
First, a point of clarification: peonies are NOT cute hooved animals that little girls love. They’re showy, cool-weather flowering plants that often struggle in Southern California gardens. Peonies are native to the chillier climes of Europe, America, and Asia....
Guavas are like gold at the supermarket, if your local market even carries them. They’re small, tasteless, and so costly, you may think you wandered into Harrods by mistake. Anyone who has sampled a ripe guava fresh off the tree will forever be on a quest for...
