Life Style & Travel

UNITED STATES—Aridity is the opposite of humidity. It is why summer warmth is not as unpleasant here as in humid climates. It does not get so much consideration though. Most of the populace of California inhabits arid chaparral or desert climates. Aridity is so typical that any absence gets more attention. Humid warmth is both uncomfortable and relatively uncommon...

UNITED STATES—When a fatality as final and conflated as that which occurs, a void descends upon a family. A home, a blank wall which gets sealed with a photo of the one who was taken. There will be a wall festooned with many photos from the football fields and the plantation hot springs, and especially those polished studio photographs...

UNITED STATES—Old fashioned irrigation systems were quite thorough, and technically sustainable. They broadcast generous volumes of water over any vegetation that required it. Their systems were too simple to need much adjustment. Their metallic composition was very resilient. That is why so many old systems were in service for so long. Some continue to function. However, such old fashioned irrigation...

UNITED STATES—Landscape design and gardening trends change like every other sort of fashion. Several fads of the past were quite practical and justifiable. Many were not. Whether justifiable or not, many merely became old fashioned. Some evolved into a more contemporary style. Others were not so adaptable. Planning for a landscape is easier than planning for fads. For example, plants...

UNITED STATES—There is no doubt about it. Weeds are sustainable. Otherwise, they would not be weeds. By definition, they grow where they are undesirable. Less sustainable vegetation should be less invasive. Also, it should be less resistant to eradication than most familiar weeds are. Unfortunately, also by definition, weeds are undesirable. They cannot become fads. Sustainable horticulture is a fad...

UNITED STATES—Seed is the most familiar source of much of the vegetation that inhabits home gardens. It is the origin of almost all vegetables and most annual flowers. Some seed grows directly into its gardens. Some grows in nurseries to become saleable young plants. Seed is not the only method of propagation though. Cuttings, division and layering are as...

UNITED STATES—Trees are generally the most significant living components within a home garden. Even treeless gardens benefit from nearby trees. Some old redwoods contain more wood than the homes that they shade. Some old oaks inhabited their gardens centuries before their gardens did. With few exceptions, nothing in a garden is as big or permanent as a tree. Japanese maples,...

HOLLYWOOD—There is something that has been bugging me for years that I have wanted to talk about for a long time. What the hell happened to music videos? I mean they started to emerge I want to say in the 60s and 70s, and then boomed to iconic status in the 80s and 90s and a bit more in...

UNITED STATES—All cacti are succulents. However, not all succulents are cacti. Actually, cacti are a very unique family. Their distinctive spines and thorns are very specialized leaves and stems. Such specialized leaves cannot photosynthesize without green chlorophyll. Therefore, cacti rely on their succulent green trunks for photosynthesis. Their trunks work as foliage. But of course, not all succulents are cacti....

UNITED STATES—It is probably a dreaded phrase so many Americans hear time and time again in their household: “What’s for dinner?” I know I am not the only one and let me just say this, dinner should be fun not a chore. The moment that cooking becomes a chore it takes all the love out of the meal. Why?...