Jeanette Marantos
@jmarantosplants.bsky.social
I report for the LA Times, mostly writing about plants, gardening and Southern California’s changing landscapes. I’m an American; I stand for diversity, equity and inclusivity in our gardens and our world.
Here’s a 3-fer plant for the garden: African blue basil provides beautiful flowers for bouquets, delicious basil for my sauces and happiness to SoCal honey bees, even in December!
December 17, 2024 at 6:19 PM
Here’s a 3-fer plant for the garden: African blue basil provides beautiful flowers for bouquets, delicious basil for my sauces and happiness to SoCal honey bees, even in December!
Just another 66-degree December day in Ventura…. and me , counting my blessings that I get to live here.
December 7, 2024 at 7:50 PM
Just another 66-degree December day in Ventura…. and me , counting my blessings that I get to live here.
Likely my last tomato harvest for 2024, and some have barely turned color but not a bad haul for Dec. 4. Now I can make sauce for my lasagna!
December 5, 2024 at 2:20 AM
Likely my last tomato harvest for 2024, and some have barely turned color but not a bad haul for Dec. 4. Now I can make sauce for my lasagna!
I’m slowly converting my yard to mostly California native plants, fruit trees and veggies, but this sentimental gardener will always have at least a few roses, still fragrant and blooming in late November
November 25, 2024 at 7:01 PM
I’m slowly converting my yard to mostly California native plants, fruit trees and veggies, but this sentimental gardener will always have at least a few roses, still fragrant and blooming in late November
Fragrant pitcher sage
(Lepechinia fragrans) is a California native plant that never fails to delight. Here it is blooming a week before Thanksgiving! And even without its flowers, the leaves are so aromatic all I need do is brush by them for my daily fragrance fix.
(Lepechinia fragrans) is a California native plant that never fails to delight. Here it is blooming a week before Thanksgiving! And even without its flowers, the leaves are so aromatic all I need do is brush by them for my daily fragrance fix.
November 21, 2024 at 7:21 PM
Fragrant pitcher sage
(Lepechinia fragrans) is a California native plant that never fails to delight. Here it is blooming a week before Thanksgiving! And even without its flowers, the leaves are so aromatic all I need do is brush by them for my daily fragrance fix.
(Lepechinia fragrans) is a California native plant that never fails to delight. Here it is blooming a week before Thanksgiving! And even without its flowers, the leaves are so aromatic all I need do is brush by them for my daily fragrance fix.
The Los Angeles Flower District around Wall and 8th streets in DTLA is a gritty life noir on the outside but the flowers inside the markets can brighten and inspire the bleakest day, and admission is only $2! Details here www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st...
November 20, 2024 at 8:59 PM
The Los Angeles Flower District around Wall and 8th streets in DTLA is a gritty life noir on the outside but the flowers inside the markets can brighten and inspire the bleakest day, and admission is only $2! Details here www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st...
The #MountainFire hit #GreenwoodDaylilyNursery in Somis hard, melting plastic pots off plants and charring equipment and structures, but most of its irises and other SoCal-sturdy perennials survived — just in time for optimal planting! Details in my LA Times Plants newsletter Dec. 1.
November 19, 2024 at 10:02 PM
The #MountainFire hit #GreenwoodDaylilyNursery in Somis hard, melting plastic pots off plants and charring equipment and structures, but most of its irises and other SoCal-sturdy perennials survived — just in time for optimal planting! Details in my LA Times Plants newsletter Dec. 1.
In mid-November my Southern California garden is still full of surprises….tomatoes, watermelon cucumbers, zucchini …. and a dead gopher? I was plagued by gophers this fall but here is some kind of rodent dead on a pile of gopher-churned earth. But do gophers have such long tails?
November 18, 2024 at 5:13 PM
In mid-November my Southern California garden is still full of surprises….tomatoes, watermelon cucumbers, zucchini …. and a dead gopher? I was plagued by gophers this fall but here is some kind of rodent dead on a pile of gopher-churned earth. But do gophers have such long tails?