Sign up for our L.A. Times Plants newsletter
Sign up for our L.A. Times Plants newsletter
At the start of each month, get a roundup of upcoming plant-related activities and events in Southern California, along with links to tips and articles you may have missed.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
The L.A. Times Plants newsletter is for everyone who cares about plants — whether you’re a committed gardener with tons of yard, a condo dweller with a balcony container garden or a landless environmentalist who wants to see habitat restored as much as possible for our threatened species.
I’m Jeanette Marantos, a staff reporter for The Times who has been covering plants and the things that make them grow since 2016. I’ve covered a lot of other things during my 20-plus years in journalism, from health and business to courts and homicides, but plants are the topic that fills me with the most hope — and the greatest sense of urgency.
If you care about the natural world, you probably feel this too. Whatever your circumstance, I’m guessing you’re probably curious about the world, interested in new ideas and juggling so many things it’s hard to keep up.
That’s where this newsletter comes in.
At the start of each month (and only once a month!) I’ll send you a roundup of upcoming plant-related activities and events in Southern California, along with links to tips and articles you may have missed.
My goal is to provide you with options to learn, consider, act and thrive, because ultimately, the way we landscape, the methods we use to grow, the food we eat, even the temperature of our urban neighborhoods are all plant-related decisions with far-reaching effects on the health and happiness of our communities and our world.
I talk to experts every day — thoughtful, passionate people who graciously share their knowledge and ideas so I can pass them along to you. And I want to talk to readers like you too about your gardening journeys. Let’s make this a conversation.
Sign up for the L.A. Times Plants newsletter here or at our newsletters center. Email your plant questions, interests and events to jeanette.marantos@latimes.com.
And finally, don’t forget the joy of plants. Always take time to stop and smell the roses … or better yet, some delicious Cleveland sage!
Sign up for our L.A. Times Plants newsletter
At the start of each month, get a roundup of upcoming plant-related activities and events in Southern California, along with links to tips and articles you may have missed.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
See all Times plants and gardening coverage at latimes.com/plants
Recent editions
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.
It’s time to plan your spring veggie garden, but before you start planting, get your raised beds and containers ready for a new season — and check out plant events for March.
Artificial turf is so bad — it harms soil, breeds bacteria and sheds microplastics — that some naturalists would prefer water-guzzling grass. So what to do now?
Master gardeners and plant experts share easy tips to collect as much rainwater as possible, from digging trenches to using garbage cans.
Non-native plants from Mediterranean climates like Australia are getting love from even wholesale California native plant growers for drought-tolerant landscapes in SoCal.
Cardboard is crucial for sheet mulching to kill a lawn, but critics say there’s no science proving it works. All you really need, they say, is lots of wood chips.
If you’ve removed your lawn and want native plants in your new landscape, check out these ground covers recommended by pros, plus a list of October plant events.
Should we pick our homegrown tomatoes when they’re green? Three experts weigh in with harvesting tips, plus plant-related activities for September 2023.
If you’re looking for a hike-like workout closer to home, consider tackling one of L.A.’s outdoor staircases.
A healthy neighborhood hike is less about gaining altitude and more about changing your attitude.
