Written by
478 Articles
Most neighbors assume the other person is on the hook when a dividing fence falls apart, and California law tends to surprise both of them.…
By John Miller CA · Sep 9, 2026
Plant Care
If you love hearing birds sing right outside your window, the plants in your yard matter more than…
By John Miller CA · Sep 9
Plant Care
If you have ever spent a hot California weekend pulling weeds, you know how fast they come back.…
By John Miller CA · Sep 9
Plant Care
Open holes appearing across your California yard almost overnight can feel alarming, especially when fresh soil keeps piling…
By John Miller CA · Sep 9
Plant Care
Something underground may be quietly killing your avocado tree before the leaves give you much warning. Late summer…
By John Miller CA · Sep 9
Plant Care
One day your yard is full of California ground squirrels darting between burrows, and then almost overnight they…
By John Miller CA · Sep 9
Plant Care
If you live on a California hillside or anywhere near open brush, you already know fire season is…
By John Miller CA · Sep 8
Plant Care
Water bills keep climbing, drought restrictions keep tightening, and a lot of California homeowners are quietly wondering whether…
By John Miller CA · Sep 8
Plant Care
If you are tired of pulling weeds every weekend and watching your water bill climb all summer, native…
By John Miller CA · Sep 8
Plant Care
Hornworms are among the most destructive caterpillars a California tomato gardener can face, capable of consuming large amounts…
By John Miller CA · Sep 8
Plant Care
When your yard is small but you still want privacy, the answer is to grow up instead of…
By John Miller CA · Sep 8
Plant Care
September in California is a sweet spot that a lot of homeowners miss. The brutal summer heat starts…
By John Miller CA · Sep 8
Plant Care
A small backyard in California doesn’t have to feel cramped or boring. With the right plants and features,…
By John Miller CA · Sep 7
Plant Care
Every fall, well-meaning California gardeners pick up their pruning shears and tidy up their hydrangeas, not realizing that…
By John Miller CA · Sep 7
Plant Care
Tree roots creeping under a driveway or pushing against a foundation can turn a neighborly relationship into a…
By John Miller CA · Sep 7
Plant Care
Growing berries in California can feel like a gamble when your soil is heavy clay, your summers run…
By John Miller CA · Sep 7
Plant Care
Fall is when rats start hunting for warm places to nest, and your California yard can accidentally roll…
By John Miller CA · Sep 7
Plant Care
Somewhere in a California neighborhood, a loquat tree is dropping sweet spring fruit while the peach tree next…
By John Miller CA · Sep 7
Plant Care
Many California homeowners who love feeding backyard birds never realize that a simple, well-meaning habit can quietly give…
By John Miller CA · Sep 6
Plant Care
Shade is a gift in California, but some trees make you pay for it with endless raking, hauling,…
By John Miller CA · Sep 6
Plant Care
Bare soil and stubborn weeds are two of the most frustrating problems in a California yard, and most…
By John Miller CA · Sep 6
Plant Care
A familiar groundcover sold at nurseries across California is showing up on local invasive-plant lists, and some homeowners…
By John Miller CA · Sep 6
Plant Care
Summer heat in California is no joke, and for homeowners watching their air conditioning bills climb, finding a…
By John Miller CA · Sep 6
Plant Care
Every fall, California gardeners face a quiet decision about their hydrangeas that can shape the entire next season’s…
By John Miller CA · Sep 6
Plant Care
If you live in California, your yard could be doing more than looking pretty. Some common plants act…
By John Miller CA · Sep 5
Plant Care
Plenty of California homeowners want a vine that fills in a fence quickly, adds some privacy, and does…
By John Miller CA · Sep 5
Plant Care
Those little gaps between your patio pavers are like open doors for weeds. Instead of pulling them out…
By John Miller CA · Sep 5
Plant Care
Most California homeowners with an avocado tree in the yard assume that if the tree is getting water…
By John Miller CA · Sep 5
Plant Care
Crispy brown tips creeping along your avocado leaves in August or September are one of the most frustrating…
By John Miller CA · Sep 5
Plant Care
Spotting a bobcat crouched at the edge of your yard can stop you cold, and the first instinct…
By John Miller CA · Sep 5
Plant Care
Spotting an owl gliding past your fence line after dark is one of those backyard moments that sticks…
By John Miller CA · Sep 4
Plant Care
Bamboo promises a fast green wall, but in California yards it often escapes its bed and marches into…
By John Miller CA · Sep 4
Plant Care
Seeing yellow leaves spread across your tomato plants in August can feel like something has gone badly wrong,…
By John Miller CA · Sep 4
Plant Care
Curling leaves on a backyard citrus tree can send a California homeowner into a panic, especially when early-fall…
By John Miller CA · Sep 4
Plant Care
Lantana is one of the toughest flowering plants you can grow in a California yard, but even heat-loving,…
By John Miller CA · Sep 4
Plant Care
Walking out to your backyard after a brutal California heat wave and finding a carpet of fallen avocado…
By John Miller CA · Sep 4
Plant Care
Gardenias are one of those plants that look perfectly healthy right up until the buds start dropping, and…
By John Miller CA · Sep 3
Plant Care
Rose leaves turning yellow in late summer can send even experienced California gardeners straight to the fertilizer bag…
By John Miller CA · Sep 3
Plant Care
Spotting a striped snake gliding through your garden beds can stop you in your tracks. For many California…
By John Miller CA · Sep 3
Plant Care
Something smaller than a watermelon seed could be quietly threatening your backyard citrus tree right now. The Asian…
By John Miller CA · Sep 3
Plant Care
Wildfire embers can travel more than a mile ahead of a fire and land right next to your…
By John Miller CA · Sep 3
Plant Care
A dark, narrow insect with folded wings and a long pointed head might show up near your porch…
By John Miller CA · Sep 3
Plant Care
Dragon fruit looks like something out of a fantasy novel, but gardeners in mild Southern California have been…
By John Miller CA · Sep 2
Plant Care
That skinny strip of dirt along your fence or the shadowy patch behind a wall is usually where…
By John Miller CA · Sep 2
Plant Care
Lavender is one of the most forgiving plants in a California garden, but even tough plants have a…
By John Miller CA · Sep 2
Plant Care
If you want a yard that survives California’s long dry summers and still feeds bees, birds, and butterflies,…
By John Miller CA · Sep 2
Plant Care
Hydrangeas look amazing on the nursery shelf, all puffy blooms and rich green leaves. But once you get…
By John Miller CA · Sep 2
Plant Care
Plumeria owners across California often notice their plants dropping yellow leaves right around the time fall nights start…
By John Miller CA · Sep 2
Plant Care
Pulling weeds every weekend gets old fast, especially through a long, dry California summer. The good news is…
By John Miller CA · Sep 1
Plant Care
California’s warm valleys and mild coastal pockets can grow tropical fruit trees you will never spot at the…
By John Miller CA · Sep 1