Beach Front Plants for English Seacoast Gardens

Question from Katie: Hi Pat, just found your www site and saw it said, “Send a Q to Pat”, so, here goes… location: seaside, south-facing (in England: the sunny side), sheltered terrace.  Required: architectural, evergreen, “WOW!”...

Sunset areas

Question from James: The Sunset Western lists our San Diego area as between 14 & 24 but I find many products require a more specific zone. I thought that if I provided you with a more detailed location, you could provide me with a closer zone....

Southern California Planting Zones

Question from Kim: What is the zone for planting/growing vegetables, flowers, trees in the high desert of so. Calif. I live in the Antelope Valley, north of Los Angeles. My zip code is 93551. Where can i look this up on the web? Answer from Pat: You...

Planting Summer Crops

1. Choose a site in full sun. 2. Build raised boxes or plant in ground. 3. For raised beds: Nail 1/8 ­1/4 hardware cloth on bottom of each box to keep out gophers. 4. Fill boxes with good-quality topsoil. 5. Cover the ground surrounding the raised boxes...

What Climate Zone am I In?

Q. I live in Santa Clarita, CA. up by Magic Mountain. I’ve always wondered exactly what “zone” this is considered?? A. Thanks for your wonderful email. It sounds as if you’ve got your priorities straight! By the way, the book you...

Planting with the Seasons (Indigo Salvia and Ageratum)

Question from Diane: Good morning, Pat. I last wrote to you in July, when I asked what to put on the fence at my Hancock Park house with the new neighbors. We took your advice with the Jasmine and added in some iceberg roses as an experiment. All seems...

Soil Preparation Before Planting in a Raised Bed That Has Been Used Before

Question from Stephanie: We have just moved to a house in Los Angeles, equipped with two 7-foot-long boxes already filled with soil that’s been in there for a year or more. My daughter and I would like to plant an herb and vegetable garden but...

Benefits of planting the easy things

Comment from James: It must be nice to walk along the beach at your leisure. While the California coast is beautiful with its pounding surf and rugged coast line I found the water much cooler than I expected. I prefer the coast along the Sea Ranch...

Exposure as a factor when growing Tibouchina

Question from  Shannon: I just bought your book tonight and then I stumbled upon your website. As for my sad Tibouchinas, I guess I have to accept that they are not made for our climate or our water concerns. I saw them everywhere around LA, so I ...

Crop Rotation

Question from Mari: I live near Fairbanks Ranch in San Diego county and grow organic vegetables in raised beds. Since I love broccoli, I want to grow them most of the year, however, I realize that you need crop rataions. Is it o.k. to rotate with...

European White Birch-Clumps

Question from Darla: I just read you response to someone regarding their birch trees.  I had planted yesterday, for the second time, three European White Birch-Clumps at the side of an apartment building in a coastal area of Southern California.  Previously,...

When To Plant Annual, Perennial, and Biennial Flowers From Seeds

Question from Brandon: Please help! My wife and I, as inspired by your book, are setting in motion our plan to start our fall planting by starting seed in August. We’re planning our beds for cool season flowers, but we are having a giant disagreement...

Best planting month

Next to October, March is the best planting month of the year. If you planted cool-season flowers last fall, however, your borders are already overflowing. So take advantage of March’s other virtue: It’s the first month of the year for planting summer...

Self-Sowers & Plant Volunteers

I once asked my gardener Raymundo why he never weeds. “Because in your garden, Senora,” he replied, “you can ‘t tell the difference between a weed and a flower!” He had notice d that in our mild Southern California climate many garden plants...