February is usually the coldest and wettest month of the year in Southern California which begs the question………why would I want to garden??
My first, personal answer is that I always love to garden, in particular to grow flowers
Serious gardeners love a challenge, especially when it comes to zones, frost, temperatures and all that boring technical stuff. Tell a serious plant lover that you can’t grow one and they’ll buy two. Tell them it’s too tropical
TomatoMania seedlings sale at Roger's Gardens
If I could successfully grow one vegetable every summer in my garden, it would be tomatoes. Forget the eggplant, corn and celery. Just let me pick warm, sun-ripened tomatoes off the vine as early
Every Mediterranean climate has them. Locals call them the “berg” in South Africa, “brickfielder” in parts of Australia, “harmattan” in Algeria, “levanto” on the Canary Islands, “leste” on the island of Madeira, “leveche” in Spain, “mistral” in southern
Robert Smaus has done more to encourage fall planting in southern California than any other person. In his groundbreaking book 52 Weeks in the California Garden, published exactly ten years ago this year he expertly articulates the benefits
In most ways gardening is a local topic. Hence, the reason for the Coastal Gardener column. Unknowingly, gardeners receive a great deal of information in a generalized format. When gardening information is heard or read and then re-printed,
Home grown, vine-ripe tomatoes from your own garden are one of a gardeners favorite topics. The tomato season along the coast of Orange County begins about March, when transplants are set out, or February if starting from seed.
Let’s check this week’s forecast. Lisbon, Portugal is expecting clear skies, a high of 80° and a low of 66°. Barcelona, Spain is showing clear skies also, highs around 86° and nighttime lows of 69°. Athens, Greece will
Many years ago I was a gardener. It was hard work and I loved it. We were old-fashioned gardeners. We planted flowers, did all the detail work, worked every plant, controlled pests, cleaned the beds and a lot
Throughout Southern California, for the past century at least, hydrangeas were a mainstay of the summer landscape. Then, like bell-bottoms, they nearly disappeared. Fortunately, over the past few years they have regained popularity and are again among the
