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604 Articles
A tree from the yard next door crashes through your fence or lands on your car, and your first instinct is to assume your neighbor…
By John Miller CA · Sep 14, 2026
Plant Care
Spending a warm afternoon in the backyard and realizing you have not spotted a single lizard in weeks…
By John Miller CA · Sep 14
Plant Care
Every garden has those awkward empty spots between plants, and the wrong filler can take over your whole…
By John Miller CA · Sep 13
Plant Care
You do not need a big backyard to grow real, juicy fruit in California. With the right variety…
By John Miller CA · Sep 13
Plant Care
Some trees look gorgeous at the nursery, but a few years later you are raking, sweeping, and scraping…
By John Miller CA · Sep 13
Plant Care
Gravel paths and rock-mulched beds are supposed to make yard maintenance easier, but for many California homeowners, the…
By John Miller CA · Sep 13
Plant Care
Barn owls are some of California’s most effective wild hunters, quietly patrolling yards and fields for rodents every…
By John Miller CA · Sep 13
Plant Care
California fuchsia is a tough, sun-loving native perennial that can bring hummingbirds to your yard from late summer…
By John Miller CA · Sep 13
Plant Care
Meyer lemon trees are one of California’s most popular backyard fruit trees, but they have a habit of…
By John Miller CA · Sep 12
Plant Care
Most California citrus growers head into fall thinking the hard work is done, but the trees are still…
By John Miller CA · Sep 12
Plant Care
Most California homeowners with a backyard fruit tree never connect their harvest routine to the scratching sounds they…
By John Miller CA · Sep 12
Plant Care
California plumeria owners spend all summer enjoying those waxy, fragrant blooms, but the decisions made in fall often…
By John Miller CA · Sep 12
Plant Care
South-facing walls and concrete driveways in California soak up sunlight all day and then throw that heat right…
By John Miller CA · Sep 12
Plant Care
That thirsty green lawn out front might be costing you more than you think, and California will actually…
By John Miller CA · Sep 12
Plant Care
California gardeners often reach for the same handful of plants, missing out on native beauties that thrive with…
By John Miller CA · Sep 11
Plant Care
Solid fences can block wind, trap heat, and make a coastal yard feel stuffy and closed off. The…
By John Miller CA · Sep 11
Plant Care
Spotting a gray, pointy-nosed animal shuffling through your yard after dark can be startling, but the Virginia opossum…
By John Miller CA · Sep 11
Plant Care
California heat spikes can hit citrus trees hard, and the moments right after the temperature drops are more…
By John Miller CA · Sep 11
Plant Care
Fall is one of the best times to garden in California, when the brutal summer heat finally eases…
By John Miller CA · Sep 11
Plant Care
Spotting a small, shiny lizard darting under your mulch or vanishing behind a stepping stone can feel like…
By John Miller CA · Sep 11
Plant Care
Nobody wants to spend a hot California afternoon skimming leaves and flower bits out of the pool instead…
By John Miller CA · Sep 10
Plant Care
California hummingbirds are always on the hunt for their next reliable meal, and your patio can become one…
By John Miller CA · Sep 10
Plant Care
Growing an avocado tree on a small California patio sounds like a dream, but not every variety plays…
By John Miller CA · Sep 10
Plant Care
Finding a black bear in your fruit tree is startling, but it usually says more about the bear’s…
By John Miller CA · Sep 10
Plant Care
California gardeners are quietly falling in love with native plants, and the best place to learn about them…
By John Miller CA · Sep 10
Plant Care
Grabbing the hose at noon on a scorching California day feels like the right thing to do, but…
By John Miller CA · Sep 10
Plant Care
Most neighbors assume the other person is on the hook when a dividing fence falls apart, and California…
By John Miller CA · Sep 9
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