Avocado Heights is an unincorporated community located in the San Gabriel Valley, and next month its over 15,000 residents are getting a pimped out new park. more ›

The LA County Board of Supervisors approved the allocation of $31 million in private funds to expand the LA Natural History Museum, a project that's now in its final stages. According to a statement released by the county, the funding will be put towards a landscaped amphitheater, at least ten new gardens and a pond, as well as new fences to replace the concrete walls that currently contain the museum. more ›

Starting at noon on Sunday, the Milagro Allegro Community Garden in Highland Park will be giving away 400 bare-root fruit and nut trees, thanks to an anonymous donor, reports the LA Times. Milli Macen-Moore, Milagro Allegro's resident master gardener and teacher, was reportedly contacted by the donor who... 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 ›

Students, faculty, and staff at the University of Southern California have dirt-y dreams and vegetable visions for their campus, and for all of Los Angeles. A panel convened yesterday to discuss "The Politics of Food," and how to grow and use food in the local community, reports the Daily Trojan. Among the goals of USC's food service are to implement "tray-less dining," and source more food locally. more ›

April, among other things, happens to be National Garden Month. And what an ideal time--it's spring, and it's the right time to get your planting done for the months ahead of garden goodness. But this isn't just about people with yards to dig up, or with seasoned green thumbs. The great thing about gardening is that you don't have to be a pro to give it a go, or even do the gardening where you live! In fact, you can celebrate National Garden Month, we say, without even setting foot in a garden. Here are 7 things you can do. 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 ›

It's your day off. You're uninspired and under-funded (aka bored and broke). "But I live in Los Angeles!" you remind yourself. "There's got to be something I can do that won't break the bank." Art, music, museums, theatre, workshops, gardens, and more always seem to come with a price tag, unless you're totally in the know. Well, it's not too complicated to file yourself under the in-the-know column. Free L.A. is a publication that you can keep on your bookshelf to use when you need low-cost fun on the fly, or hand off to those out-of-town couch surfers you're hosting who would otherwise spend their vacation days fondling your remote control and eating you out of house and home. 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 ›

No, urban farming is not the name of some cool sounding store that will become the next fad like froyo and cupcakes. It's just what it is--farming and gardening for yourself at home at in local gardens for the community. Up in San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom wants community gardens on vacant and underutilized city-owned lots. At the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama has planted a garden on the south lawn. Although the garden on White House Place in Los Angeles is threatened and the South Central farm is now over a hundred miles away in the Central Valley, the urban farming efforts found in Silver Lake, South Pasadena, Altadena and elsewhere seem to be growing in popularity. more ›

At a Zocalo food panel focused on defining Los Angeles' cuisine moderated by the Pulitzer Prize winning Jonathan Gold last year, there was no specific dish or item that could be defined as owned by this city. Tacos, burritos, sea food, sushi were all brought up (mind you, this was before Kogi BBQ and the mobile food truck culture ever existed, so much changes in less than a year, right?), but none felt like the quintessential L.A. food. But one consistent theme was apparent with Gold and others: a chef's long-term relationship with farmers and farmer's markets. In other words, what L.A. should be known for is not one specific food or dish, but the locally grown and sustainable food trend, the panel seemed to agree. more ›

Improving a blighted neighborhood could be as simple as a covering up unsightly walls and rusted fences with a vertical garden. For nearly two months, the Nelson brothers have been selling a new concept in this burgeoning field. Their business, the Woolly Pocket Garden Company, began serendipitously when they were looking for a vertical garden solution to their eco-conscious Chinatown event space, Smog Shoppe. But no product existed to meet their needs cost effectively, so they did it themselves and figured it was a product others might want, too. more ›

Something is clearly afoul over at the historic Huntington in San Marino. Nothing is wrong, actually. But all eyes--and noses--are on one rare bloom in particular: The Corpse Flower. more ›

Forget June Gloom... for one major section of Descanso Gardens in La Canada it's all about June Bloom! more ›

Last weekend, the homeowners, docents, and designers who are taking part in today's Green Gardens Tour gathered in the beautiful Santa Monica library to talk with each other and to be honored by the tour organizers at a thank you breakfast. more ›

This upcoming Saturday, April 26th, marks the 4th Annual Green Gardens Tour, which gives attendees a backstage pass to see six home gardens on the Westside that "demonstrate sustainable designs, practices, and technologies." With conservation issues a hot-topic in the Los Angeles area--and all over the world--the tour is a wonderful hands-on opportunity to see what some people have done in their own yards to pitch in to save our precious resources while creating beautiful and inviting landscapes. All of the gardens are professionally designed, but not only will attendees get to take home the Green Sourcebook that's loaded with valuable information (like plant lists!), they can hear lectures and demos on the tour all focused on this year's theme, which is Gardening With Intent. more ›

Grand Performances Downtown, Free, Outdoors, Take the Red Line Thursday - Musicology 102, Music Theory: Melody/Harmony with Alan Chapman Friday - Paulist Choristers of California and Sinfonia Orchestra Saturday - Alan Chapman and Karen Benjamin Celebrate the American Songbook www.GrandPerformances.org Hollywood Bowl Outdoors, Drink Wine, Fireworks Monday thru Wednesday - July 4th Fireworks Spectacular Saturday - The Decemberists with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Sunday - Mozart's Magic Flute www.HollywoodBowl.com LA Opera in Beverly HIlls Outdoors,... more ›

We live in a beautiful part of the world, don't you think? Despite the fact that sometimes it feels like all we ever see are the taillights and inane vanity plates of the car we're stuck behind, if we take some time to check out all the flora and fauna that our soil produces, we might get that nice swift kick in the rear from Mother Nature we didn't even know we needed. On... more ›