ArcaMax

Water-hungry lawns are symbols of Los Angeles' past. In this series, we spotlight yards with alternative, low-water landscaping built for the future.

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LOS ANGELES -- The temperature was in the 90s in West Hills, but that didn't deter an astonishing number of monarch butterflies, hummingbirds and bees from feeding on the California-...Read more

One of the plants that literally took your breath away at the plant trials this year was the new Supertunia Tiara Pink. Shoot, I am not even a pink flower guy in the least but this one had me mesmerized. Subsequently the ones made available to me in testing have been the same, a "Holy wow!"

I’ve recently posted a photo on my Facebook page and...Read more

Q: We are living in an area that is having a drought. We were talking to a neighbor, and he said that he was thinking about upgrading his irrigation system to a smart system. I am not sure what a smart irrigation system does that our current system doesn't do. We watch the weather and the rainfall and adjust accordingly. We have many plants that...Read more

The Garden Guy used to drive Mississippi’s Highway 49 from Hattiesburg to Gulfport to fall in love with the native Stokes aster. They aren’t just native to Mississippi but found throughout the South. I have loved them at homes I have owned and in places like the Columbus Botanical Garden when I was director. I promise you will be stoked over...Read more

Q: When I was younger, we had a purple clematis that bloomed in May while I was still in school. The other day, I saw a clematis that was in full bloom at the end of June. It was pretty so I looked into clematis, and there are so many different groups and pruning methods that I am really confused. How can I get a spring and a summer blooming ...Read more

Q: Our crab apple tree is suddenly losing all of its leaves. Some are yellow, some are green and some have large brown spots on them. The lawn next to the tree is irrigated, so we think the tree is getting enough water. What else can we do?

A: It sounds like the tree has a fungal disease called apple scab. It is a common disease on older apples...Read more

At the end of April, I had a gardening epiphany, a virtuoso experience if you will: I grew my first dahlia.

The hot and humid region of the Chattahoochee Valley of west Georgia is probably not the first area of the country that comes to mind at the mention of a dahlia paradise. But this day in April, as I looked at the Pinkerific, I felt as if...Read more

A year ago, a lot of us had the opportunity to try Supertunia Hoopla Vivid Orchid petunia. Even more importantly though, these new plants were part of the university trial programs. My first reaction was that these petunias were just a fancy novelty. These trial programs proved me wrong and this year the gardening public is showing their delight...Read more

Q: We were looking at our flowers the other evening and saw an amazing insect with huge pincers on its rear end. What is it, does it do any damage and how do we get rid of it, if it does?

A: An insect pest many people seem to have this summer is the earwig. They are 1-inch-long insects with pincers on the back end. They can pinch, but not too ...Read more