In winter we have hot toddies (and Candied Apples!) and in summer we have mint juleps — but what about those brisk yet sweet-smelling days in between? Enter the Early Bloomer. It's a cocktail we came up with, one that's crisp, green and floral, with...

We know we're spoiled out here in coastal Southern California, what with our 50-degree lows and all. And yet, C and her friends are always freeezing. So for when we're watching movies or football or entertaining outside, RB built this snazzy heater. It's especially helpful when...

A bland bedroom patio and an impulse buy were the two things that conspired, 16 years ago, to initiate Barry Levine into the practice of bonsai. This was while he was still a bachelor living in Brentwood. “The patio had nothing on it but a chair...

Not to get all sappy, but we often don’t realize how much luck is all around us, all the time. Today we were planning to go on a shamrock search (say that ten times fast) in honor of Saint Patrick's Day, but ended up finding...

You might have seen them. The Clivia miniata, or natal lily, squats patiently and monochromatically for most of the year, beneath trees and in dark corners of gardens in Zones 9 and 10. It's also a beloved indoor plant — as it shuns direct sunlight and...

The traffic islands around here are truly one of the natural wonders of the world. A couple weeks ago, we noticed that one of our regular concrete drive-bys became irradiated overnight with thousands of fuchsia-color flowers. Turns out, it’s a type of athletically spreading succulent,...