San Mateo-San Francisco

Glorious, homegrown tomatoes are the rock stars of the summer garden.

Spring along the Northern California Coast can be unpredictable. Without summer's marine layer, it can be warm and sunny during the day and very chilly once the sun goes down. It can be rainy and wet or bone dry.

The Bad News: Fire Season is now year-round in California. More Bad News: wildfires are no longer confined to areas with overgrown forests: homes in suburbia are increasingly vulnerable to devastation. The Good News: there are things you can do to improve the odds of your home surviving a wildfire.

Fire is a real and present danger throughout California. Climate change has brought record periods of drought and excessive heat while decades of fire suppression practices have resulted in overgrown forests.

Lovely stands of fragrant Paperwhites, spectacular pots of Amaryllis and colorful displays of poinsettias are Nature's way of saying, Happy Holidays! But once the New Year is ushered in and they (like post-holiday humans) start looking peaked, what do you do?

With the holidays just around the corner, the gardener and horticulturist in your life would appreciate a thoughtful gift to fuel their passion for growing.

Thanksgiving can be a time of celebration, gratitude and sharing.

Whether it's a massive display or a tiny desktop bloom, there's nothing like an orchid for adding beauty and a sense of serenity to any decor. No surprise: these exotic divas of the plant world are more popular than ever, but caring for them can be intimidating.

The Hummingbird: A Universal Symbol of Joy and happiness Hummingbirds are indigenous to North, Central and South America but they have become important to people in many other parts of the world.

Attention all gardeners: how much do you know about the insects that inhabit your landscape? Can you tell which ones are beneficial and which are potentially damaging?