Gardenig in California. Tips & Guides

When we lived in California we could grow tomatoes without even trying! Our tomato plants would get so big that the hubster would have to tie them up to 6 foot steel rebar stakes. One summer we canned over 50 quarts of tomatoes!

We’ve already discussed how to grow and care for the two types of edible macadamia, the smooth-shelled Queensland variety, M. integrifolia, and the rough-shelled M. tetraphylla.Native to Australia, they grow well

Putting on a gorgeous display, and as rare in the wild as a precious metal, the bush anemone truly is the stuff of legend.Native to just a single small patch of California, this woo

Vines are plants with long stems that cascade, climb, or creep.Some grow so big and old that they ear

We eat a lot of fresh fruit in our house during the summer, but unfortunately, we’re not the only ones who seem to enjoy it! Fruit flies are equally as passionate about ripe summer produce, and they seem to appear out of thin air whenever there’s fruit in the kitchen.

Summer is the perfect time of year for so many things—dining outdoors, hosting events, and reconnecting with nature. Thanks to longer days and warmer weather, the coming months are also ideal for finding a new activity or rekindling your love for something you haven’t had a chance to do in a while. 

If you’re looking for color and whimsy in your landscape, or you want to attract pollinators to your wildlife garden, baby blue eyes is the plant for you.There comes a moment when a gardener discovers they’re a

The peach twig borer (PTB) is a medium-sized gray moth. Its larvae can cause devastation on stone fruit and almond crops in Europe, north Africa, North America, and Asia.This pest originates in Europe and was first identified in th

Shasta daisies occupy a quiet corner of my mind. I remember the glow of white flower petals in my parents’ garden at night, reflecting the moonlight as we roasted hotdogs on bonfires and hunted for fireflies.Daisies as a group are garden favorites. The Shasta variety

One of the best parts of summertime, in my humble opinion, is spending evenings outdoors with friends or family. When the sun starts to sink below the horizon and there’s a little bit of a breeze, it can be heaven on Earth! Unfortunately, there’s also another creature who loves a good summer evening – mosquitoes. Nothing can ruin a great gathering faster than a swarm of mosquitoes hanging around!

We all know, of course, that letter carriers deliver the mail. But I wonder how many of you know about the 1920s mailman who “delivered” what would become most popular avocado in the United States?It’s an interesting tale, and I’ll tell you all abou

Despite offices being closed, Sundays are the busiest day of the week at the Marin County Civic Center. Located half an hour north of San Francisco—and within a couple of hundred miles of California’s many agricultural regions, including the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys and the North and Central coasts—the Sunday Marin Farmers Market is the third largest among the state’s 655 open-air greenmarkets. 

During summer in East Los Angeles, California, you’ll see yucca blooming in people’s gardens and various pockets of the landscape. It’s refreshing to see their blooms when other flowers have faded in the hot weather.We link to vendors to help you find re

As a tropical plant, lemongrass isn’t exactly suited to the chilly temperatures of winter in much of North America. When temperatures fall below 40ºF, it begins to suffer.We link to vendors to help you find relevant prod

I grew up enjoying snowy winters every year in Montana, so when I moved to southern California for college, I missed the snow. A lot.But then came graduate school in Vermont, where not only

Anet Aguilar traces her passion for corn back to her grandmother.