Plants
The best zucchini varieties for home gardens
We grew three different heirloom zucchini varieties and rated them based on space, productivity, and flavor to find the best combo for our home vegetable garden
Vegetable Garden Trials: Carbon Black Heirloom Tomatoes
Two thirds of the way through the growing season, Carbon Black Heirloom Tomatoes have been a standout for the size and quantity of the tomatoes they produce
Yerba Mansa (Anemopsis californica)
A low maintenance native of the American southwest and northern Mexico, Yerba Mansa is an attractive trailing plant that grows along creeks and in shallow water
Growing Armenian Cucumbers for the First Time
I grew Armenian cucumbers for the first time this spring. Here's what I learned about this tasty, 3,000 year-old fruit from the Middle East
Lemon Queen Sunflower (Helianthus)
Lemon Queen sunflower is a pale yellow multi-branched sunflower that grows to 8 feet and produces an abundance of bottom-to-top flowers over a long bloom period
Leonotis leonarus (Lion’s Tail)
Leonotis leonarus (Zones 7-10) is an easy shrub with deep green leaves & showy orange flowers. Native to South Africa, it attracts hummingbirds & butterflies
Camellia Japonica (Common Camellia)
The camellia is a member of the Tea family (and can be brewed into tea). A living shade screen most of the year, in spring and summer it puts on a flower show
Lacy Phacelia (Phalcelia tanacetifolia)
Lacy Phacelia (Phacelia tanacentifolia) is a southwestern U.S. native that attracts pollinators & beneficial insects with showy blue flowers in spring & summer
Salvia Spathacea (Hummingbird Sage)
Hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea) is a low-growing California native in coastal oak valleys. In the rainy season it grows spiky pink blooms hummingbirds love.
Echeveria agavoides in Bloom
Echeveria agavoides looks like an agave, but it's a succulent from Mexico. The leaves are lime green in winter but turn lemon yellow tipped with red in summer.