Imagine a dark woodland area at night. Would you be drawn to it? Would you want to linger? Probably not, unless you’re a vampire. By the same token, a dark backyard with deep shadows can feel more menacing than inviting. But an accent light here and there, a...
You can grow almost anything in Southern California. The magnolia tree, which evokes images of the humid American South, flourishes in California’s much dryer climate, although with more TLC. A Brief History of the Magnolia Tree Fossil evidence traces the...
We all know a putterer when we see one. Putterers putter in the yard — digging, planting, pruning, and mowing. It’s a form of therapy. But when temperatures soar into the 90s, with humidity to match, yard work feels less like therapy than torment. Even putterers...
To the ancient Persians, the pomegranate represented fertility and abundance. In Greek mythology, the pomegranate symbolized prosperity and eternal life. The fruit is a powerhouse of health benefits — rich in antioxidants like punicalagin and anthocyanins, which...
The Aztecs gave us words like “chocolate,” “tomato,” and “avocado.” They developed chinampas, or floating gardens, to feed their large population. And they were the first to cultivate zinnias, a flower they called...
Avocados are delicious and nutritious (said Captain Obvious). They’re also remarkably easy to grow in Southern California yards. The plant hails from Mexico, which also gave us the poinsettia and the zinnia. Persea americana dates back thousands of years and was...
