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Tithonia rotundifolia is by far the best flowering shrub for summer, spring and fall performance.
This annual can be planted as seed in early spring, after danger of frost has passed. As a young plant-let plant in full sun in early May. This annual can grow to a height of over 6 feet tall by 6 feet wide and will provide you with a prolific bloom cycle as long as you dead head and fertilize with organic compost! As a bonus, these beautiful brilliant orange flowers with a yellow center will most certainly attract butterflies to your garden. I had luck with the ones I planted last May to bloom through to frost! They like full sun and well drained soils. Remember to dead head for a longer blooming season. That’s today’s garden tip. I’m Mike Brown your garden guru and I’ll be seeing you around the garden!
It really does begin with the soil. Most of us may have some basic knowledge about the soil that’s in our garden but if you want to have bragging rights for a successful garden (also known as a green thumb) then here are some pointers you should know.
1. While clay soils may contain some organic matter, they are slow to drain and that can cause soils to become anaerobic (without oxygen) and that will certainly be problematic for your vegetable or flower garden. You will need to amend the soil with compost (this allows for air pockets to form in the soil). It is vital that plant roots have air pockets in the soil as this allows for water drainage, it is easier for plant roots to navigate through soils that are not compacted, and it also will become a viable home to lots of earthworms which in turn will help aerate the soil. And they leave behind manure as organic matter.
2. Make sure all weeds are pulled before they go to seed. Weeds will rob your soil of valuable nitrogen and take it up before your vegetables and flowers get a chance to. That is why weeds grow so fast…they survive under extreme conditions and in a garden soil with lots of nutrients they will grown ten fold! Weed block, a permeable fabric that will allow for water to drain through but will not allow weeds to grow through is a good investment. I don’t recommend the use of herbicides as these will affect those wonderful valuable microbes and earthworms in the soil. Every time you are in your garden you should pull weeds – and put them in the trash not the compost bin unless you know for sure they are not seeding. A hot compost may not kill off weed seeds even if the temperatures reach over 120 degrees, so I always put weeds in the trash.
3.Do a simple soil pH check. Most soil test kits can be purchased at your local nursery or garden center and will provide you with some general but valuable information about your soil pH and nitrogen levels. A good tip to remember is this: if you are actively composting your soils you can bet the pH range will be more acidic than those who do not compost. Soils that are in the temperate climates where leaf fall and winters kill back weeds and other plants you will have a more acidic soil. Those who reside in a Mediterranean climate, where there is no autumnal leaf drop or heavy winter die back the soils will be more alkaline. With that being said, if you want a successful vegetable garden you will need to compost. If you want to grow azalea, camellia, roses, gardenia hydrangea (just to mention a few) you will have better success with an acidic soil. California natives thrive in some of the hardest alkaline rocky soils so plants like ceanothus, manzanita or coyote brush love these soils – they would not do as well in rich acidic composted soils.
4. So the next time you dig into your garden soil, check to see if you need to amend or compost your soil. Or you can always plant your garden in planter boxes or containers if you want to bypass the “in ground” planting.
That’s my garden tip for the day! Good luck and I’ll be seeing you around the garden! 
When starting your spring garden take a little time researching your plant and product knowledge (fertilizers, tools and long term maintenance). Having a plan will save you a lot of time as well as money! For starters:
Sketch out your garden layout…..it is helpful to have specific measurements so you know how many plants you need per square foot, how many bags of mulch and compost you need. There is no such thing as a “brown thumb” if you know basic garden knowledge. For example: when choosing a fertilizer go organic! I always practice the organic method. Why? Because using organic fertilizers actually feeds the microbial activity, insects and earthworms. Synthetic fertilizers add salts to the soil profile and are usually abrasive and can burn roots and foliage. Read your labels and chose the right products for you and your home! I’m Mike Brown and I look forward to seeing YOU around the garden!
While some of us are basking in unseasonable temperatures those who are longing for the warmth of spring, now is a good time to start to put your gardening ideas onto paper. If you are in a frost free area you can even begin to re-design your flower beds. In this picture posted here, I scalloped these beds to give a free-flowing informal appearance while at the same time it creates more depth for these colorful snapdragons and foxglove. And it makes it easier to pull weeds and add fertilizers. I planted these in early February of last year in California and got these terrific blooms all the way through July. They can be planted back east in early May after danger of frost. If you dead head them and keep the soil weed free and composted you should be able to have about 4 months or longer of blooming time. Watch for insects in the early part of spring….their populations can increase ten-fold over night. Keep alert of foliar and flower changes such as yellowing of leaves, holes in leaves, leaf or flower drop or die back of young seedlings. If you catch these changes early on you can save yourself bigger problems down the road. Happy planting and I’ll be seeing you around the garden!
Photo credit: Mike Brown
If you find yourself needing some holiday boughs and trimmings take a stroll out into your landscape and see what you might be able to bring into the house for a table arrangement. In this case I found myself pruning out some young invasive eucalyptus trees along with some over grown berberis and pyrcantha. Then I clipped some magnolia limbs and holly to finish off this massive 5 foot arrangement. I filled the bottom of this fiberglass container with brick to weigh it down and set it in a window out of direct sunlight and away from indoor heating. Check the water level daily to ensure the flowers retain their freshness. If some clippings start to die off sooner than others, you can always take another trip outside and replace them with fresher cuttings. Enjoy your Holidays and I’ll be seeing you around the garden.
Design by Mike Brown of Projectgreenscaping.
 
Most of us have one or more of those neglected spaces at our home or office that with just a little imagination and a few bucks can transform a rather obscure space into a beautiful microclimate of color and texture! Here’s how this small botique on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles went from a bleak concrete patio to an inviting place to have afternoon tea. Before deciding on plant options take into consideration the amount of sunlight the area will be receiving (remember the sun is lower in the horizon in the winter so make sure your plant design will take the lower light or you may have to do a seasonal change out of plants). Most likely the soil will have to be amended or replaced. With small spaces this will not be expensive but most importantly – make sure there is drainage. If drainage is a problem, you will have to drill into the concrete or install a french drain to excavate excess water away from the patio or courtyard. This shaded patio was perfect for bromeliads and moss as a ground cover. With a faucet nearby, it was easy to access water. Once the plants were chosen this project was completed in one afternoon. Good luck with your small patios and courtyards and I’ll be seeing you around the garden.
Design and photo credit: Mike Brown
 
These firt time homeowners bought this beautiful ranch style house and had to invest in some interior re-design and a lot of exterior landscape work. First off, a cracked and stained concrete driveway was removed and replaced with chicago-brick style pavers. The dead bamboo to the right of the driveway was obviously removed and replaced with a Jacaranda tree that will eventually provide shade on this hot south facing property. The sod was a mixture of weeds, crab grass and St. Augustine grass which needed to be replaced. First though, the old sod had to be roto-tilled up and removed before any new sod could be installed. A triple Robelleni palm was added to the base of the giant Cuban Royal palm that dwarfs this one story home. Cuban Royals look great on properties with a commanding driveway leading up to a two story estate and not a single story home with a short circular driveway. Copper leaf shrubs were added in front of the house as an accent plant as well as sword ferns. All of these plant choices do great in the sweltering south Florida sun. As you can plainly see, a new landscape design makes this home inviting and increases the aesthetics of the neighborhood. That’s your landscape project for the day, I’m your host Mike Brown, please join us again as we set out to re-design a West Hollywood home on a very tight budget! Drop us a line at www.projectgreenscaping.com and I’ll be seeing you around the garden.
Photo credit: Mike Brown
  
These homeowners were looking for a way to cut back on their water bill and at the same time wanted a garden that would demand less maintenance. So I suggested that we do a climate appropriate garden that would save them money, benefit the local pollinators and provide seasonal color throughout the year. The lawn was ripped out and a new irrigation system was installed. Yes, even climate appropriate plants will need supplemental watering during peroids of drought. The design element called for pink rock rose, salvia leucantha, a non-fruiting olive tree, rosemary, blue fescue, pink pensetmon and a maleluca tree. I allowed for a small DG pathway from the drive to the front door so the client would not have to walk out to the sidewalk to enter the house. As a ground cover, a fine textured mulch was spread out to add a finishing touch and suppress weeds and keep the soil moisture from evaporating. These 3 pictures clearly show the beginning phase, the completion of the project and six months later after the plants benefited from the Southern California winter rains. If you have any questions about climate appropriate gardens don’t hesitate to drop me a line. Thats all we have time for today, I’m your host Mike Brown and I’ll be seeing you around the garden.
Photo credit: Mike Brown
From the looks of this trellis you might think you’ve taken a stroll into the land of Hansel and Gretel. To create this look all you need to begin with are natural pieces of limbs and logs (look for pieces that are not part of a pruning or sawing session- they will make the trellis look more natural). I purchased two 20 foot pieces of rebar and 4 bags of Quickcrete cement. Then I dug a hole three feet deep and mixed the Quickcrete and filled up the holes. I had a friend help me bend the rebar (I used the 1/2″ diameter rebar- it is easier to bend by hand. Wear gloves and keep a good grip on the rebar when installing it). Let the Quickcrete dry, usually a couple of hours. While the Quickcrete is setting you can begin to decide where to place your logs and limbs. Use the lighter pieces for the top and the heavier pieces at the bottom. Bailing wire is great for securing them to the rebar. I used a lot of bailing wire to ensure that the logs are immobile and that will give you and added sense of security too. Your choies of vines and plants are numerous. Remember, vines need the sun to flower and grow and installing your trellis in a sunny location will encourage blooms and producevigorous growth. Good luck with your old world garden trellis and I’ll be seeing you around the garden.
Photo credit: Mike Brown
  
Fall and winter, depending on where you live is a great time to overhaul or clean out some of those neglected flower beds. If your beds have lost their zest and charm why not start by redesigning them? In the case of this flower bed, I decided to cut back about four feet of sod that had been slowly growing into the beds during the summer months. The only tool I needed was a shovel to cut away the linear bed line that had defined it for way too long. I then cut a serpentine design to establish a new bed line and dug down at least 3 inches into the soil to hold a deep layer of mulch to keep it from feathering out into the lawn. This was also a good time to rake leaves, pull weeds, add organic compost and prune back any neglected plants. Once the design was in place I watered and then mulched. Remember to rake back the mulch next spring or summer when you fertilize so that the fertilizer will percolate down into the soil. Then simply rake the mulch back into place. This was an inexpensive way to perk up what had become a drab corner in the landscape. Good luck with your redesign and I’ll be seeing you around the garden.
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