Backyard fruit is the talk of the town right now – or maybe talk of the garden. Gardeners are worried about trees that have yet to leaf out or bloom, about grapes that don’t seem to be developing, about leaves that look misshapen, and more. Most of these concerns are a lot to do about

There’s no better way to give your garden a sense of place than by using native plants. Still, it can be challenging to decide what is truly native, and figuring out how to use those plants in a garden setting, rather than a restoration. Restorations essentially recreate the plant com

— Nan Sterman When I dine out, my first choice is always farm-to-fork and farm-to-table. When I cook at home, my first choice is my own farm-to-fork. My little “farm” is the vegetable garden where I’ve grown all kinds of edibles, from artichoke to zucchini, for

— Nan Sterman Plumeria are fragrant, flowering shrubs that are easy to grow in frost-free, water-wise gardens. Most people associate Plumeria with Hawaii but that’s not their native homeland. Where is their native habitat? Watch our show, Intoxicating Plumeria to find out.

–Nan Sterman In these hot days of summer, we take pleasure in watering vegetable gardens and fruit trees but we don’t often think about watering pines, liquidambar, magnolia, floss silk, and all the other trees that grow so well in our climate. Once tree roots are deep in the ea

— Nan Sterman While there are lots of great garden products on the market, some are questionable. Weed cloth is one of the questionable products. Is it good? Is it bad? Is there any reason to use it? Weed cloth, weed fabric, weed barrier, and landscape fabric are all names for m

— Nan Sterman They’re sweet, they’re hot, they’re the coolest things around. I’m talking peppers. Big peppers, small peppers, red, orange, purple, yellow, and of course, green. With so many kinds of peppers on the market, you might be surprised to learn that culinary peppers are

— By Nan Sterman This week’s episode of A Growing Passion is “Distant Roots and Tasty Shoots,” a visit to the San Diego Zoo’s amazing plant collections. We tour the Zoo’s orchid house in one of the segments. The orchid house is actually two small greenhouses and an outside area

By Nan Sterman The story behind Homegrown Hops, Local Flavor for Local Brews starts a few years ago.  My daughter called me just before my husband’s birthday. “Mom,” she said, “Groupon has an offer for a beer brewing kit – we should get that as a gift for Dad.” Of course we shou

— Nan Sterman Seeds fascinate me. They look like little pieces of dead wood. But bury them in soil or potting soil, add water, set them where the temperature is just right, and they sprout. Care for them and they grow into plants, many of which we eat. Have you ever seen a tomat