Can our landscapes model a vibrant future? Not according to the LA DWP.

.... This is not the kind of model we need, DWP. Next time you change up your landscaping, consider consulting one or more of the many brilliant plant people and designers in this city. Call us if you need numbers. Consider using permeable surfaces and contoured landscaping to capture every drop of our rare rainfall and send it down to the thirsty soil. Show us how to use native and Mediterranean plants to make lush landscapes that call in the pollin...

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Our new front yard, part 3: design

...cy of the lawn and the specimen tree as the be all and end all of suburban landscaping. It is difficult to challenge this model with more naturalistic landscaping. If a design is not going to cause complaints and wrinkled noses, it can’t look “too wild.” This means using hardscaping strategically to make a landscape look well planned, and to also mix in more traditional landscape elements with wilder ones. A good strategy, for instance, is to keep...

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Our new front yard: history

...ith our barren slope. As first time homeowners new to the whole concept of landscaping, we were stumped by the problem, but dutifully read our Sunset gardening guides and determined that we should plant the slope with Mediterranean plants. Through this process we began to learn the common names of plants, as as well as their exotic, hard to pronounce scientific names, and we began to pick up on basic vocabulary: terms like root ball and perennial...

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Nursery Customers From Hell

...20 minute rambling conversation scared us away from ever wanting to do any landscaping at all. I am struggling to remember if she was even slightly encouraging about a single topic, but honestly, I don’t think she was. From a business perspective, I could not have imagined a worse sell. I am kicking myself, because I tried them once before a year prior (without my wife), and had the EXACT same result. I even had the same two workers providing the...

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Non-GMO Versions of Grape Nuts and Cheerios Less Nutritious Than GMO Versions

...h a “non-GMO” label. In the case of Cheerios and Grape Nuts, the “non-GMO” label is either a marketing gimmick or an attempt to start a voluntary labeling program to head off voter mandated efforts. Here’s where you can help. I need to kick my Grape Nuts crack habit and find a healthier breakfast alternative. Any suggestions? Note from Mrs. Homegrown: This post took me by surprise. Erik has eaten Gravel Nuts–I mean, Grape Nuts–for breakfast since...

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