Home Improvement Guide

BULLY FOR BULBS

Jim Threadgill's Carlsbad home is more than a place to live. As owner of Easy to Grow Bulbs, he tests many types in his own garden.

FALL FANCY

Autumn is a time when cold-climate gardeners are preparing their landscapes for a long winter's sleep. Not so in sunny San Diego, when this welcome season of cooler temperatures and shorter days ushers in a new round of garden color.

SWEET SENSATION

Mangoes are plentiful in the supermarkets now, often available for as little as 35 cents each.

GARDEN THERAPY

Pull up to the metal gates to be greeted by an owl in flight and a crescent moon hanging over swirling oak trees.

BEAUTY AT HAND

In this segment of my garden design series, I will arrange an ornamental herb garden using water-thrifty plants notable for their subtle beauty and heady fragrances.

FLOWER POWER

When your car clatters across the railroad tracks, you're almost there. Behind you are the gritty streets of this East Bay industrial city that wend past a tired strip mall and the mom-and-pop shops that serve the largely African-American and Latino population.

DRAMA QUEENS

Most of us who are passionate about gardening are always keen on finding plants that seemingly “marry” or knit together the variety of foliage and flowers in a mixed perennial garden.

COLD FACTS

Some folks like to spend winters in the desert. Well this year, they didn't even have to get in their cars, because the desert came to us.

CAPTIVATING CAMELLIAS

When one of America's largest plant growers creates a 60-acre state-of-the-art facility dedicated solely to producing camellias, it's a strong indication that these showy shrubs are hot, hot, hot.

A GIANT IN HIS FIELD

Jan. 14 is a red-letter day in the world of roses. Today, Ralph Moore celebrates his birthday. This is no ordinary birthday, for he will be 100 years old. Moore is no ordinary man, either.

WHAT'S COMING UP

A lot can happen in a garden in the course of a year. So, once again, I've asked several well-known gardeners, nursery owners and plant experts to give me the low-down on “what's hot” and “what's not” in their gardens.

BUDDING HEADLINERS

Curtains up in April – that's when new roses will debut in full bloom in gardens across San Diego County. But now is the time to assemble the cast for this year's Rose Review, taking our pick of 2007 rose introductions in nurseries and catalogs.

MEXICAN STANDOUTS

Many of us may not be aware of the origin of all the plants we grow in our gardens today. One likely source could be Mexico, a country rich in plant diversity. An estimated 26,000 species of plants are known to grow in Mexico, but scientists, who are constantly discovering new species there, believe the number is much higher.

BLUEPRINT

There are few California native plants that produce flowers as “true blue” as Ceanothus does. Often referred to as California lilac, Ceanothus has been highly respected for centuries as one of our most prized native shrubs and ground covers.

SHEDDING LIGHT ON BULBS

It's that time of year when nurseries offer bulbs, bulbs and more bulbs – rainbow arrays of tulips, daffodils, narcissus, hyacinths, ranunculus and many, many more.

COLOR COMMENTARY

Color should always be sought after in a garden. One of the most effective ways to do this is to incorporate plants that give continual waves of bloom throughout the year.

HIS FIELD IS PLANTS

His eyes sparkle, his voice sounds excited and his speech races along when Nicholas Staddon describes a plant he likes. “Whizz-bang” and “a smoker” are a few of the words he uses to praise a favorite fern or flower.

A TASTE OF THAILAND

Nestled in the heart of old Encinitas is a tiny bit of Thailand, where mango, guava and bananas share space with Thai chile peppers and basil. Towering palm fronds rustle in the breeze, accompanied by the ring of traditional Thai bells.

VIVA BOUGAINVILLEA

If you had to name plants identified with San Diego, chances are bougainvillea would be on your list.

NATURAL COUNTERPOINT

When Federico Fuentes first inspected some vacant land he was considering buying in Baja California's wine country, the ocean breeze and scenery around him were intoxicating.

LET'S SUMMER-IZE

As spring's exuberant flowers fade and the warm summer sun starts beating down long and hard on the soil, what can be done to keep our gardens lively and colorful?

COMING UP PINK

Pink is more than the name of a color. It's a common term for dianthus, those spicy scented flowers so popular in cottage gardens. Pink also means “the highest degree” as “in the pink of health.”

ACROSS GENERATIONS

The first time I opened Sharon Lovejoy's book “Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together With Children,” my heart stood still. Just inside the cover is a simple watercolor of two tiny figures from behind.

GLASS ACT

It's amazing that Garry Cohen and his wife, Cherrie La Porte Cohen, can talk while they work.