There's a food truck for every palate, so it's only apropos that a former food (well, ice cream) truck has been turned into a mobile florist. The trend mavens at Daily Candy steered us towards Jennifer Kaplan and her sweet (smellin') Flower Truck. more ›

Buying pretty flowers and taking a romantic stroll is par for the course on Valentine’s weekend, and this weekend is no exception at The Huntington gardens. Hundreds of red, pink, and white camellia blooms will compete for top honors at The Huntington’s 39th annual Camellia Show, co-sponsored by the Southern California Camellia Society. A wide selection of camellia plants will also be available for purchase if the mood strikes. more ›

We're having wild weather, indeed, and with winter's arrival, it doesn't seem right to be thinking about cheery purple blooms dotting our greenspaces, and yet at Los Angeles State Historic Park they're already getting a preview of the lupines that will blanket the park come spring. more ›

Take a hike with Tony Valois in the Santa Monica Mountains and you're likely to see things much differently than the average hiker. For Valois, a volunteer with the National Park Service, the mountains are a living, breathing and ever-changing landscape of beauty, wonder and excitement. What's this flower? He has the answer. How about this grass? Yeah, he knows it. What can be said about this tree? Nothing gets beyond him and if he doesn't know, he'll be quick to figure it out. more ›

Today marks a big step for the homegrown revolution. The L.A. City Council unanimously approved a motion that instructs the city attorney to amend an old and ambiguous city ordinance to allow for the on-site use and off-site sale of flowers and fruit grown within city limits. Currently, the simple act of growing them in your backyard with the purpose of selling them is a citable offense. However, vegetables are okay. more ›

Late last month the City Planning Commission approved a proposal to update the language of a decades-old ordinance on the books as pertaining to something called "truck gardening." Dubbed the "Food & Flowers Freedom Act" by movement spearhead Tara Kolla, whose Silver Lake Farms was at the center of the fruit, veggie, and floral controversy. more ›

Naming the movement the "Food & Flowers Freedom Act," urban farming advocates went before the City Planning Commission this morning at a hearing in Van Nuys to put forth a proposed ordinance amending outdated and unclear language on record in Los Angeles since 1946. Following the hearing, the CPC voted unanimously in approval of the proposed amendments. more ›

Springtime is here, and one very beautiful sign of its arrival full-force is to see the cherry blossoms that seem to explode in their lush, pink glory all around Lake Balboa. Here's a look thanks to LAist Featured Photos pool contributor Robbie. We can't help but agree with the caption she offers: "Yay!" more ›

For most of the year, the Giant Coreopsis plant looks like a short stubby odd-looking version of a Joshua Tree. Often referred to as the Dr. Seuss plant, it sits flowerless and dead-looking for about nine months of the year. Then wildflower season comes and it boldly blooms with beautiful yellow flowers. And that time is now and the clock is ticking. more ›

The Los Angeles River Center and Gardens isn't exactly off the beaten path, but it's pretty likely it's not on your radar as a place to stroll, relax, and learn. Intrigued by the prospect of spending some time in a beautiful, peaceful place without spending any money, we headed out last week to check out the space at San Fernando Road and Avenue 26 [map]. more ›

Wildflower season is about to begin, and to keep apprised of where you can see what around Southern and even Central California (for you road trippers) the Theodore Payne Foundation will once again run their Wildflower Hotline. more ›

There's nothing wrong with encouraging and supporting your local farmers markets and community supported agriculture programs, but urban foraging can be harmful, sometimes deadly, if you don't know what you're doing (if you do, you can make a wonderful salad). Apparently, students at Marshall High believe a local, yet poisonous, flower called Angels Trumpet has hallucinogenic properties and are eating the flower while walking to and from school, reports The Eastsider LA via the LAPD. "Could be true," the police said in a newsletter, "or their bodies are reacting to the poisonous toxins they ingested." Just take Dramamine, one website suggests. more ›

Although the marching bands have put away their drums and trumpets and the princesses' crowns are resting on velvet pillows, there's still a chance for folks in the Los Angeles area to get an up-close look at the floats that traveled down Colorado Boulevard yesterday morning as part of the 121st Tournament of Roses Parade. The public is invited to check out the floats on display along Sierra Madre and Washington boulevards today and tomorrow from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., according to KTLA. more ›

Earlier this month, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack declared National Farmers Market Week, during which Americans were urged to try to put a visit to an area market into their routine in order to support local farmers and hopefully enrich their diets with fresh, locally sourced, healthy produce. On the heels of those eating and consumer focused efforts, Vilsack shifted his focus one step back in the chain and declared August 23-29 National Community Garden Week. more ›

As noted earlier today, one of the seven murals made of flowers advertising the 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle was unveiled today along the 101 Freeway near downtown. This truly isn't an advertisement, at least not in the legal sense for Federal regulators who are not allowing the floralscapes to be commercial in nature. Instead, the new marketing concept (their words) uses "abstract images of the new Prius" that captures the essence of its marketing campaign--“Harmony Between Man, Nature and Machine"--developed by Saatchi & Saatchi. more ›

Later this morning, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Caltrans and Toyota will unveil what they call a first-of-a-kind "Harmony Floralscape." From what we can tell, it's a garden of 20,000 flowers that make up a living mural of sorts, and in this case, a creative and eco-friendly supergraphic advertising Toyota's 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle. Creative, eh? more ›

I’m not going to wait until one of you gets your compost together to ask me an important question. I’m not going to hear the 4th query on “why do I suck at gardening?” (A: worms hate you). This column needs to be responsive, sure… but let me ask a question that you should be asking: Why do my dahlias have jock itch? more ›

The story could begin like this: "Once upon a time, some folks decided to plant a corn field on 32 acres of brownfield near Downtown Los Angeles." And maybe that's the story you know. But that's only one chapter of the space that is/was Not a Cornfield, because the story of the space began in the 1800s (and earlier, still) and is still being told. This is the Los Angeles State Historic Park, and its evolving landscape right now boasts some pretty stunning wildflowers most worthy of a springtime stroll around the premises. Learn more about the land's amazing and rich history first via their website, and then via a visit; the park is set up with informational markers throughout to enrich your understanding of this wonderful little place in the shadow of our skyscrapers and nestled against the Gold Line's tracks. more ›

In the next few days and weeks, cherry blossoms are about to blanket the branches of local trees with their gorgeous blooms. Last weekend LAist headed out to Encino to the Lake Balboa area to see some early blooms, and today the Daily News has a listing of other places around town where you and yours can enjoy the cheerful springtime sight of cherry blossoms, take a stroll, snap some picks, and get outside. more ›

Around the perimeter of Lake Balboa in the San Fernando Valley are hundreds of slender trees with fragile branches soon to be fully burdened by the buouyant pink of gorgeous cherry blossoms. These trees know it's verging on spring, and about 30% of them are sporting their cheerful buds and blooms. An daytime jaunt these days to the park and a stroll around the lake will grant you a hint of what's to come. more ›

Practically splitting Los Angeles in half, the Santa Monica Mountains are one of LA's biggest and closest outdoors assets to those of us living in Los Angeles. The National Recreation Area, under the auspices of the National Park Service, is a large area extending from the Caheunga corridor to the Pacific Ocean and is full activities from hiking Runyon Canyon to the hot topic this spring, wildflower hunting. The Park Service's Research Learning Center has it's own bloom report for the recreation area and a very helpful flower database tool. (Via Modern Hiker) more ›

PhiLAnthropist's last minute picks for gifts that give more...check out the first PhiLAnthropist Gift Guide for more ideas. more ›

Guerilla gardening is largely thought to have its roots in England, where folks have long planted unexpected gardens in neglected public spaces as a sort of call to action that highlights the misuse of land and repurposes it into something beautiful. They often work in crews or teams and go on carefully-planned gardening missions. Recently a local team of guerilla gardeners transformed a section of land next to an off-ramp of the 101 Hollywood Freeway. more ›

The 31st annual Echo Park Lotus Festival is only two weeks away, but something--something central to the event--is missing: The Lotus. more ›