Life Style & Travel

Dogwoods are certainly pretty as they bloom this time of year. They are rare, but seen often enough in nurseries to make one wonder why they are even more scarce in local gardens. Those that got sold in previous years should now be prominent features around town. The problem is that because they are not happy in local climates,...

HOLLYWOOD—There’s one question David Combs has had to endure countless times in 38 years on countless movie sets, “What role are you playing?” With his jaunty rattan snap-brim that that would be at equally home at Santa Anita or on inParis, Combs cheerfully replies, “I’m a studio teacher.” Because of his unprepossessing actorish poise, at first blush it doesn’t...

LOS ANGELES—As the economy improves and the real estate market gets stronger, many are now looking to buy property with an eye toward building wealth. With all the indicators showing strength in the market, it’s a great time to buy especially for those seeking to rebuild their nest egg by investing in property. It’s been a long five years since...

Cacti have thick, fleshy stems outfitted with nasty spines instead of leaves. Agaves and related aloes have stout, fibrous stems that are mostly obscured by thick, fleshy leaves. (Only a few somewhat rare aloes develop bare trunks and stems.) What they have in common is that they all are succulent plants, collectively known as succulents. There are all sorts of...

LOS ANGELES—Buyers often have misconceptions about what a real estate agent can do. These days, with the proliferation of smartphones, iPads, laptops and the Internet in general available anywhere, buyers can make major mistakes by thinking they know everything they need in order to buy a home. So much so, that they sometimes forego hiring a professional real estate agent...

California has no more native palms than Oklahoma has with the diminutive dwarf palmetto. The stately California fan palm, which is also known as the desert fan palm, inhabits warm desert regions in southern California. It is what put the 'Palm' in 'Palm Springs'. However, because it likes heat and minimal humidity, it is not so happy away from...

UNITED STATES—Upon first glance you can easily mistake the apricot for a peach, but its not.  While both fruits are apart of the stone fruit family, the apricot has a taste unlike any other.  It’s sweet, yet tart, but deliciously tantalizes the taste buds in a way that a peach and nectarine can not. The texture of an apricot...

UNITED STATES—In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, this week we pay tribute to the veggie that makes quite a few people cringe: cabbage.  What is it about this extremely heavy, green, leafy vegetable that so many people dislike?  Perhaps it’s the bitter taste.  Cabbage isn’t a vegetable that is easy to push down the throat.  Flavoring the veggie just...

Since I did not make the drive up or down the coast very often, the rare silvery-gray Bismarck palm that I could see slowly climbing into the skyline near the edge of Highway 101 through Santa Barbara seemed to be slightly taller every time I saw it. It grew slowly, but enough to notice since I only saw it...

UNITED STATES—The cauliflower is a big and bulky vegetable that is not easy to eat.  The first question most people ask when purchasing cauliflower is just how do you cut up the veggie?  Notably only the head of cauliflower (the white portion) is eaten, the other part is discarded.  My tip is cut away as much as possible off...