John Miller CA

Tiny, secretive, and rarely seen, California ring-necked snakes turn up in gardens across much of the state, and…

By John Miller CA · Sep 26

California homeowners who want a wildlife-friendly yard often hear that a messier yard means more lizards, and more…

By John Miller CA · Sep 25

Dragonflies are some of the most capable hunters in your yard, and they spend the earliest part of…

By John Miller CA · Sep 25

Every fall and winter, California homeowners grab their pruning shears and cut flower stalks to the ground, not…

By John Miller CA · Sep 25

Plumeria is one of those plants that can look perfectly healthy one week and then suddenly appear limp,…

By John Miller CA · Sep 25

California yards do better when new plants get a head start before the long dry stretch of summer.…

By John Miller CA · Sep 25

Dry, empty patches can make a yard look tired fast, especially through California’s long rain-free season. The good…

By John Miller CA · Sep 25

Most California homeowners rake every fallen leaf off their property without a second thought, but that habit may…

By John Miller CA · Sep 24

Finding a large, reddish-brown spider with oversized jaws in your California garage can make anyone reach for a…

By John Miller CA · Sep 24

Most California gardeners know the sinking feeling of finding a tomato plant stripped overnight by a hornworm the…

By John Miller CA · Sep 24

You walk out to your garden bed at sunrise and find that a seedling that looked perfectly healthy…

By John Miller CA · Sep 24

Grasshoppers can shred a California yard fast, and most homeowners reach for a spray bottle before they ever…

By John Miller CA · Sep 24

Fall is one of the smartest times to plant fruit trees in California. The soil is still warm,…

By John Miller CA · Sep 24

If a skunk has been digging up your lawn at night, your first reaction might be to reach…

By John Miller CA · Sep 23

Walk out to your California porch on a warm evening and you might spot a large, wheel-shaped web…

By John Miller CA · Sep 23

A squat, brown toad sitting at the edge of a California garden bed is doing quiet work most…

By John Miller CA · Sep 23

Wildfire smoke, ember showers, and scorched neighborhoods have pushed California to strengthen its fire-safety landscaping rules, and some…

By John Miller CA · Sep 23

Spot a small lizard with a brilliant blue tail darting through your garden mulch and you might do…

By John Miller CA · Sep 23

Bare patches in a garden can make even a well-planted yard look unfinished. The good news is that…

By John Miller CA · Sep 23

Small, bee-mimicking insects called hover flies may already be patrolling your roses and vegetable beds, and their larvae…

By John Miller CA · Sep 22

A flash of cobalt blue dropping from a fence post to snatch a beetle is one of the…

By John Miller CA · Sep 22

Meyer lemon trees in California can hold green fruit well into October and November, and that sight alone…

By John Miller CA · Sep 22

Fake grass once looked like the perfect drought fix, but a growing list of California cities is now…

By John Miller CA · Sep 22

Every fall, orange-and-black wings fill certain California coastal trees by the thousands, drawing visitors who stand quietly beneath…

By John Miller CA · Sep 22

You do not need a big backyard to grow buckets of sweet, homegrown berries in California. Even a…

By John Miller CA · Sep 22

Praying mantises are one of the most recognizable insects in a California garden, and many homeowners are quietly…

By John Miller CA · Sep 21

Every winter, small birds with dark hoods and white-flashing tail feathers show up in California yards and quietly…

By John Miller CA · Sep 21

Lavender is supposed to be the tough, fragrant plant that practically takes care of itself, so finding it…

By John Miller CA · Sep 21

Growing Chinese jujubes in your California yard is rewarding, but knowing exactly when to pick them can feel…

By John Miller CA · Sep 21

Mulch is one of the best things you can put in a California yard. It saves water, feeds…

By John Miller CA · Sep 21

A flash of rusty orange hovering over your lawn might be the most useful bird you never thought…

By John Miller CA · Sep 21

A small brown bird with a cocked tail and a bold white eyebrow stripe sometimes pokes around rose…

By John Miller CA · Sep 20

A fig tree full of lush green leaves but empty of fruit is one of the most frustrating…

By John Miller CA · Sep 20

Pocket gophers are one of the most frustrating pests a California homeowner can face, because the damage happens…

By John Miller CA · Sep 20

Lavender is one of those plants that looks effortless in photos but can quietly turn into a tangle…

By John Miller CA · Sep 20

Drooping hydrangeas during a California heat spike can send even experienced gardeners straight for the hose, but that…

By John Miller CA · Sep 20

Bougainvillea is one of California’s most dramatic bloomers, and every fall, gardeners start worrying they’ll do something wrong…

By John Miller CA · Sep 20

A flash of yellow and black moving through your citrus or fig tree is not just a pretty…

By John Miller CA · Sep 19

A scaly, slow-moving lizard you might mistake for a small snake could be doing quiet work in your…

By John Miller CA · Sep 19

Spotting a group of California quail scratching through your garden is one of those backyard moments that stops…

By John Miller CA · Sep 19

Small, fast, and easy to overlook, wrens are some of the most active insect hunters visiting California backyards.…

By John Miller CA · Sep 19

Keeping a green lawn alive through a long California summer can feel like pouring money straight into the…

By John Miller CA · Sep 19

If your hummingbird feeder has gone quiet this fall, you are not alone, and you probably have not…

By John Miller CA · Sep 19

Pocket gophers can wreck a California yard fast, chewing through roots, collapsing irrigation lines, and leaving mounds of…

By John Miller CA · Sep 18

Most California homeowners have knocked down a spider web stretched across a doorway or garden path without thinking…

By John Miller CA · Sep 18

California Scrub Jays are loud, bold, and surprisingly useful birds that show up in backyards all across the…

By John Miller CA · Sep 18

Finding your orange tree picked apart overnight is unsettling, and your mind goes straight to rats. Before you…

By John Miller CA · Sep 18

Fall in California is a tricky time to feed your trees. Some trees drink up nutrients before winter…

By John Miller CA · Sep 18

Tall, tidy, and planted by the millions across California neighborhoods, Italian cypress looks like a harmless privacy screen…

By John Miller CA · Sep 18