Jeanette Marantos started writing for the Los Angeles Times in 1999, doing Money Makeovers until 2002. She returned to write for The Times’ Homicide Report in 2015 and the Saturday garden section in 2016, a yin and yang that kept her perspective in balance. In early 2020, she moved full time into Features, with a focus on all things flora. In June of 2023 she also began writing the monthly L.A. Times Plants newsletter, which includes a calendar of upcoming plant-related events. She is a SoCal native who spent more than 20 years in Central Washington as a daily reporter, columnist, freelancer and mom before returning to the land of eucalyptus and sage. Her present goal is to transform her yard into an oasis of native plants, fruit trees and veggies. Please email calendar submissions or plant-related story ideas to jeanette.marantos@latimes.com for consideration.
Latest From This Author
With summer temperatures and water rates on the rise in Southern California, gardeners can learn from desert farmers how to grow food with little water and lots of heat.
May 1, 2024
Take our survey and let us know when you think it’s OK to grab fruit from someone else’s tree. Your answers may be featured in an upcoming edition of our Plants newsletter.
April 24, 2024
The Carrizo Plain nature preserve is one of California’s most iconic wildflower viewing areas. But this year, if you’re looking for blankets of bright color covering the hills, prepare for a different experience.
April 16, 2024
A Studio City couple used FormLA Landscaping to transform their blah yard into a native plant wonderland with meandering paths worthy of their Storybook home.
April 15, 2024
One of the easiest ways to learn about California native plants is volunteering to get your hands dirty. Here are some opportunities around Los Angeles, Orange and Santa Barbara counties.
April 4, 2024
Sage Against the Machine is an L.A.-based band of punk-rock native plant nerds who might do for native plants what the Beach Boys did for surfing.
April 4, 2024
It’s taken a decade, but Raul Rojas and Thomas Zamora have turned a Highland Park yard of hard dirt and junked cars into a lush expanse of native plants, succulents and vegetables.
April 3, 2024
Native plants don’t just provide color and habitat in our yards, they also create beautiful, long-lasting, fragrant bouquets with the right preparation.
April 2, 2024
L.A. Times Plants, the Theodore Payne Foundation and the California Native Plant Society team up to offer an immersive introduction to native plants at Festival of Books.
April 2, 2024
April is a stellar month for celebrating native plants, from wildflower hunting (when they arrive) to the Los Angeles Times’ Festival of Books, plus lots of plant activities.
April 1, 2024