Ventura County Star Stories: Home & Garden

Despite watering restrictions, heat, yards can flourish

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:01:00 -0000

New watering restrictions come just as July heat typically takes its toll on landscapes. However, prudent planning using drought-tolerant plants, watering schedules and soil preparation can mean gardeners can still enjoy beautiful landscapes despite sizzling summer days, says Agromin, an Oxnard-based manufacturer of soil products.

Ways to spruce up your patio

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:01:00 -0000

As summer approaches, thoughts turn to vacations, but many cash-strapped families are taking a step back and looking to alternatives to enjoy the summer without breaking their budget.

Garden tips: June 21, 2009

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:01:00 -0000

T.O. yard planted in succulents just sips water

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 07:01:00 -0000

Imagine a front yard that is beautiful and green year-round but barely needs to be watered and requires no mowing, edging, fertilizer or chemical pesticides. Oh, and you don’t need a gardener to take care of it either.

Plan can make moving easier

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:01:00 -0000

When it comes to moving, a little preparation goes a long way. HGTV’s FrontDoor.com offers 10 time-saving tips to make moving fast and efficient.

Care of irises to be topic of grower's lecture

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 07:01:00 -0000

Brief for Friday or Saturday on free iris lecture taking place 11 a.m. June 6 in Moorpark

Properly tended tomatoes yield many happy returns

Sun, 31 May 2009 07:01:00 -0000

For most tomato growers, it’s time to get down to business. May is ending, and our plants should go into the ground, or containers, on their path to a juicy, flavorful August.

Garden tips: Mild June weather is great for growth

Sun, 31 May 2009 07:01:00 -0000

Not too hot, not too cold are the weather hallmarks of June in Southern California.

Next HGTV Dream Home has New Mexico view

Sun, 31 May 2009 07:01:00 -0000

Anew, fully furnished contemporary Pueblo-style home awaits the winner of the 2010 HGTV Dream Home, to be given away early next year.

May is ideal time to plant flowers, herbs

Sun, 03 May 2009 07:01:00 -0000

Walk into any nursery during May and you can be overwhelmed with the array of flowers, landscape plants, fruit trees and summer vegetables on display.

It's OK to have weeds in your lawn, author says

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 07:01:00 -0000

Has your lush green lawn, the one on which you have labored so long, started to betray you with weedy splotches of color from violets and dandelions? Are you reaching for the phone to order an herbicide treatment before the neighbors’ snickers turn to scorn?

Spring has sprung; county garden tours are abloom

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 07:01:00 -0000

In a sure sign of the season, garden tours are springing up around Ventura County like California poppies spring up in the fields. Increasingly popular in these hard times as fundraisers, this year’s crop of tours promises a wide variety of gardens and properties open for exploration.

Greenery expert takes it one step greener

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 07:01:00 -0000

The word sustainable is everywhere these days, but just what makes a sustainable landscape and why does it matter? Join Owen Dell, author of the new book “Sustainable Landscaping for Dummies,” at 7 p.m. March 29, for a talk and book-signing event at the Santa Barbara Public Library.

Home tips: Rain or not, get a jump on spring

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 08:01:00 -0000

February weather can be a big question mark. The month can bring an abundance of warm, spring-type weather or rain-soaked, wintry days.

Pruning roses is paramount, and now is the time

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 08:01:00 -0000

Muriel Humenick attacks every rosebush with the same philosophy: Cut out the old, protect the new. It’s an appropriate New Year’s maxim, especially when facing thickets of thorns. A grand dame of rose growers, Humenick has honed her pruning skills with decades of experience. Every January and February, she practices what she preaches, again and again and again. Humenick personally tends about 5,000 bushes at her El Dorado, Calif., home.

Garden tips: Plenty of planting, pruning in January

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 08:01:00 -0000

January is a good time to plant dormant fruit trees and roses for wonderful springtime color and fruit harvest, say experts at Agromin, a Camarillo-based manufacturer of soil products and one of the state’s largest green materials recycling companies.

Garden tips: Welcoming winter into your garden

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 08:01:00 -0000

Winter is just around the corner. Short days and long nights mean temperatures, especially in our valleys, can dip below freezing. Take the necessary steps to protect plants from frost, say experts at Agromin, a Camarillo-based manufacturer of premium soil products.

Back to basics: scavenge seasonal decor

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 08:01:00 -0000

Two hundred years ago, America's winter holidays were a celebration of nature.

There were no imported trinkets, plastic decorations or carol-playing figurines. Our traditions are rooted in the bounty of farm, garden and countryside, where the original symbols of harvest and solstice were first gleaned.

Some have a pressing need to have everything folded just so

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 08:01:00 -0000

You can add "folding clothes" to the growing list of obsessions. Turns out an entire generation that worked retail at Gap, Abercrombie, Old Navy and Banana Republic find the folding habit has been sharply creased into their brains.

Longtime Oak Park gardeners and neophytes reap benefits in relaxation, fresh produce

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 07:00:00 -0000

As a Los Angeles police detective, Roseanne Parino knew all about stress. But whenever she needed a place of rest, she found it in her garden, which always provided a welcome pause from the pressures of her hectic career.