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849 Articles
A soft, wobbly trill drifts across your yard after dark, and you cannot see who is making it. Many California homeowners hope it is a…
By John Miller CA · Nov 10, 2026
Plant Care
Step outside on a cold California evening and you might hear a deep, steady hoo-h’HOO-hoo-hoo drifting through the…
By John Miller CA · Nov 10
Plant Care
After a winter storm, many California yards fill with loud, cheerful frog calls. It is tempting to think…
By John Miller CA · Nov 10
Plant Care
Winter is secretly the best vegetable season in much of California. Cool nights, rain on the way, and…
By John Miller CA · Nov 10
Plant Care
If your shovel bounces off your yard in August and your beds turn into a pond in January,…
By John Miller CA · Nov 10
Plant Care
A bird of paradise with big, glossy leaves looks healthy, so it is confusing when no flowers ever…
By John Miller CA · Nov 9
Plant Care
Plenty of California yards look tired and leggy by October, and many homeowners leave them alone because they…
By John Miller CA · Nov 9
Plant Care
Picture a yard that looks like a beach resort but barely needs a hose in August. In California,…
By John Miller CA · Nov 9
Plant Care
Many California yards have a shady spot where almost nothing seems to bloom. Hummingbird sage is a native…
By John Miller CA · Nov 9
Plant Care
Your city may be handing out free compost and mulch right now, and many gardeners have no idea.…
By John Miller CA · Nov 9
Plant Care
Every fall, California gardeners toss bags of perfectly good shrub clippings into the green bin. Many of those…
By John Miller CA · Nov 9
Plant Care
A small falcon hanging in the air over your yard is a thrilling sight, and it makes many…
By John Miller CA · Nov 8
Plant Care
Walk past a loquat tree in November and you might spot fuzzy, cream-colored flower clusters tucked among the…
By John Miller CA · Nov 8
Plant Care
Planting a native shrub in October feels very different from planting it in July. The soil is cooler,…
By John Miller CA · Nov 8
Plant Care
Most snakes do not come to your porch by accident. They follow food, shade, and water, and some…
By John Miller CA · Nov 8
Plant Care
Your tomato plant looks a little thinner than it did last week, and a few stems are bare.…
By John Miller CA · Nov 8
Plant Care
Few wildflowers stop traffic like a hillside of blue and purple lupine. Growing your own from seed is…
By John Miller CA · Nov 8
Plant Care
A pale, heart-faced bird slipping out of a tree hollow or box at dusk can stop a homeowner…
By John Miller CA · Nov 7
Plant Care
If your shovel bounces off rock-hard clay every August, you are not alone, and you do not need…
By John Miller CA · Nov 7
Plant Care
Spotting a rat near the garden can make anyone uneasy. The good news is that fall gives you…
By John Miller CA · Nov 7
Plant Care
You are used to a soft hoot drifting through the dark, and then one week the yard goes…
By John Miller CA · Nov 7
Plant Care
Brown, crispy tips on avocado leaves can make a healthy-looking tree seem suddenly unwell. In California, one possible…
By John Miller CA · Nov 7
Plant Care
Spot an orange clump of beetles on a stem or under leaves in winter, and your first instinct…
By John Miller CA · Nov 7
Plant Care
Fall in California is a sweet spot for free plants, because the soil is still warm and the…
By John Miller CA · Nov 6
Plant Care
Privet makes a decent wall, but it asks for constant shearing, extra water, and it spreads into wild…
By John Miller CA · Nov 6
Plant Care
A tiny, iridescent bird zips past your window in January, and you wonder why it hasn’t flown south.…
By John Miller CA · Nov 6
Plant Care
That shiny new tiller you used twice last spring is probably still sitting in your garage. Across California,…
By John Miller CA · Nov 6
Plant Care
You step outside on a chilly fall morning and spot a small lizard perched on a sunny wall,…
By John Miller CA · Nov 6
Plant Care
Winter is the best time of year to plant California natives, because the rain does much of the…
By John Miller CA · Nov 6
Plant Care
Maybe you have spotted a hard, foamy lump stuck to a twig while pruning your shrubs. It could…
By John Miller CA · Nov 5
Plant Care
A small bat tucked under your eaves might be doing quiet work in your yard after dark. Bats…
By John Miller CA · Nov 5
Plant Care
Watering the ground under a native oak in summer can slowly kill the tree, yet many California homeowners…
By John Miller CA · Nov 5
Plant Care
Maybe you glanced out the window one cold morning and saw a parade of plump, topknotted birds scurrying…
By John Miller CA · Nov 5
Plant Care
California poppies are one of the easiest wildflowers to start from seed, and fall gives them a head…
By John Miller CA · Nov 5
Plant Care
Big-box garden centers in California often stock the same thirsty plants from out of state, and the few…
By John Miller CA · Nov 5
Plant Care
You lift a board or shift a few logs and a long, shiny lizard darts away. Many California…
By John Miller CA · Nov 4
Plant Care
A pink notice on your door says the sidewalk out front needs fixing, and the culprit is the…
By John Miller CA · Nov 4
Plant Care
A hedge can look perfectly healthy from the sidewalk and still hide a surprise deep inside. In some…
By John Miller CA · Nov 4
Plant Care
Fall in California is the best time to plant wildflower seeds, because the winter rains do most of…
By John Miller CA · Nov 4
Plant Care
A bare fence line can make a yard feel exposed, but the wrong hedge can cause trouble later.…
By John Miller CA · Nov 4
Plant Care
Every fall, volunteers with the California Native Plant Society set up tables full of plants you will almost…
By John Miller CA · Nov 4
Plant Care
Fall cleanup in a California yard can turn up a surprise: a plump, bumpy toad tucked under a…
By John Miller CA · Nov 3
Plant Care
A tiny, pale green insect with lacy wings may be sharing your rose bed this winter. Its young,…
By John Miller CA · Nov 3
Plant Care
Gardenias are famous for their creamy, sweet-smelling flowers, and many California gardeners count the days until they open.…
By John Miller CA · Nov 3
Plant Care
Cold nights in California do something sneaky and wonderful to certain vegetables. As temperatures drop, many leafy greens…
By John Miller CA · Nov 3
Plant Care
If your shovel bounces off rock-hard ground every summer and turns into sticky glue every winter, you probably…
By John Miller CA · Nov 3
Plant Care
Native plants can cost a lot at the nursery, but some California gardeners fill their yards for free.…
By John Miller CA · Nov 3
Plant Care
A handful of wildflower seed can turn a bare corner into a spring show, but only if the…
By John Miller CA · Nov 2
Plant Care
Boxwood hedges look tidy, but in a California summer they can drink a lot of water and still…
By John Miller CA · Nov 2
Plant Care
A big hawk sitting on a fence post or tree limb above your garden can make you wonder…
By John Miller CA · Nov 2