Ahoy all.  After telling many of my clients about which annuals do best for cool weather in SoCal, I thought maybe I'd tell you too.  Let me start with why this is an issue.  There are many annuals that DON'T do well.  Everybody loves Pansies.  But they get crown rot and 3/4 of them die even if you plant them high like you're supposed to. I get around that problem by only planting some in pots in my own garden. Lately even Violas are having the same issue.  Snapdragons are pretty.  But often they sit for a few months before flowering. &nb ..read more

 Ahoy all.  I haven't posted in a year and a half.  Did you miss me?  I kinda stopped because I rarely get comments and it doesn't seem worthwhile if you aren't reading.  So, if you want me to post more, please let me know. On Christmas Eve I backed out of our driveway on my way to work and noticed that my 30 year old Staghorn Fern -Platycerium bifurcatum had fallen.  The chain finally completely rusted away and the plant was sitting on the ground.  Luckily there were no plants underneath is to get crushed! I planted that fern 5 houses ago when I still worked ..read more

We're in the dog days of summer now and it was 100° here in Burbank today. I hope you all are well. I was at a job in Temple City today and afterwards thought I'd visit San Gabriel Nursery(like I shouldnt!) since I was out there. I spotted a flower from a distance that I've been hunting for about 15 years! It's Combretum fruticosum or Orange Flame Vine. It has orange toothbrush like flowers and is native to South America. I love orange flowers and even already grow another "Flame Vine" , Pyrostegia venusta. The nursery has probably had this plant for many years because it was super root ..read more

I hope you are all still well in this still crazy pandemic world. Besides working in clients gardens, I'm mostly staying close to my own garden. We have hot summers in LA and the fig beetles flying around bonking into everything are super annoying.  I always say smart gardeners don't plant in the heat of the summer. It's harder for plants to establish new roots in hot weather. I try to not plant anything in the ground after the last day on June. Tiny flowers of Passiflora sanguinolenta  But I did kinda break my own rule last week and stopped at La Crescenta Nursery. I tri ..read more

Ahoy all. I hope you are still well amidst the pandemic going on.    Here in the Los Angeles area we had protests and over the hill there were riots, looting and violence.  We are fine.  But the world is kinda messy right now.  Stay safe and well.   I love burgundy foliage plants so much, here is part two.  It's the contrast of all the green plants next to purple foliage that compliments everybody.  And the more colorful the leaves, the more they POP!  Let's begin with Alternanthera dentata Purple Knight.  It is a mounding plant that may ..read more

Ahoy all.  I hope you're still staying safe after 2 months of coronavirus lockdown.  I'm still working in clients gardens and my own garden is still keeping me sane(ish). I'm glad Rick and I are in this together.  I had to wait to do this post until one of my plants was completely leafed out. I adore foliage that is NOT GREEN.  Green is all well and good and means that the plant is happy and growing.   But green is everywhere!  I LOVE when a plant stands out and compliments it's neighbor. And burgundy foliage is awesome! I have a LOT of burgundy leaved ..read more

How are you all doing amidst this pandemic quarantine of Coronoavirus? I hope you're all taking care to stay well, and making the most out of your time by gardening or whatever makes you happy! Let's hope this ends soon.   About 20 years ago I first saw this peachy salmon flowering bulb called Homeria at one of my jobs in Glendora.  I have never seen them for sale in a nursery nor have I seen them in any other garden(friends or clients).  I love orange flowers and my client invited me to dig some up for my own garden.  I did and when I we moved to our own first house I planted them in the gro ..read more

I love Freesias.  They are one of the first signs of Spring in my garden arriving in late winter and are fragrant.       Being a bulb they disappear in hot weather(about June here) and foliage comes back up in winter.  You can't keep them down.  I once had some bulbs in a pot and transplanted them somewhere else so I could put a Pelargonium in that pot.  I thought I got all the bulbs out.  I did not. Freesias came up the next year and even flowered squished next to the Pelargonium ..read more

Most people think they know Geraniums.  The plants people know are most likely Pelargoniums.  They used to all be called "Geranium". But Pelargonium and Geranium were separated as plant classification back in 1789.  But everybody still calls them all Geranium.  I know, it's confusing.    Most popular are Zonal and Ivy Pelargoniums. Zonals are the scalloped edged leaves with clusters of red, pink, orange, lavender or white flowers. Ivies are cascading plants with pointy ivy shaped leaves and red, pink, white, purple, or lavender flowers.    Then there i ..read more

Just a quick pic of my garden to wish you all a happy New Year! I can't believe it'll be 2020! What are your gardening plans for the new year?   I have so much work to do. We've had about 5" of rain in the last two months. And even though I have a ton of mulch in my flower beds, the weeds have come up with the rain. And then there's all the rose pruning to do. I did my first pruning job of the season today. But I have so many jobs lined up I usually get to my own roses in Feb.  I'd like to put a fence around the front garden, just two horizontal PVC slats to delineate our two walkways and ..read more