There Is Variety In Succulents
Cacti have thick, fleshy stems outfitted with nasty spines instead of leaves. Agaves and related aloes have stout, fibrous stems that are mostly obscured by thick, fleshy leaves. (Only a few somewhat rare aloes develop bare trunks and stems.) What they have in common is that they all are succulent plants, collectively known as succulents.
There are all sorts of...
Misconceptions About Agents Can Hurt You
LOS ANGELES—Buyers often have misconceptions about what a real estate agent can do. These days, with the proliferation of smartphones, iPads, laptops and the Internet in general available anywhere, buyers can make major mistakes by thinking they know everything they need in order to buy a home.
So much so, that they sometimes forego hiring a professional real estate agent...
Palms Need Proper Planning Too
California has no more native palms than Oklahoma has with the diminutive dwarf palmetto. The stately California fan palm, which is also known as the desert fan palm, inhabits warm desert regions in southern California. It is what put the 'Palm' in 'Palm Springs'. However, because it likes heat and minimal humidity, it is not so happy away from...
Our Orange Peachy Friend, The Apricot
UNITED STATES—Upon first glance you can easily mistake the apricot for a peach, but its not. While both fruits are apart of the stone fruit family, the apricot has a taste unlike any other. It’s sweet, yet tart, but deliciously tantalizes the taste buds in a way that a peach and nectarine can not. The texture of an apricot...
The Cabbage, A Versatile Vegetable
UNITED STATES—In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, this week we pay tribute to the veggie that makes quite a few people cringe: cabbage. What is it about this extremely heavy, green, leafy vegetable that so many people dislike? Perhaps it’s the bitter taste. Cabbage isn’t a vegetable that is easy to push down the throat. Flavoring the veggie just...
Utility Cables Need Space
Since I did not make the drive up or down the coast very often, the rare silvery-gray Bismarck palm that I could see slowly climbing into the skyline near the edge of Highway 101 through Santa Barbara seemed to be slightly taller every time I saw it. It grew slowly, but enough to notice since I only saw it...
Cauliflower, The White Version Of Broccoli
UNITED STATES—The cauliflower is a big and bulky vegetable that is not easy to eat. The first question most people ask when purchasing cauliflower is just how do you cut up the veggie? Notably only the head of cauliflower (the white portion) is eaten, the other part is discarded. My tip is cut away as much as possible off...
The Blackberry, Another Berry Member
UNITED STATES—We’ve talked about the strawberry, the blueberry and the raspberry. There is one more relative of the berry family that we have yet to discuss: the blackberry. While berry is apart of its name, the blackberry is not a true member of the berry family.
It’s similar to the raspberry only it’s black. But its shape can prove quite...
Floral Fragrance In The Garden
UNITED STATES—Attracting pollinators is serious business for flowers that do not rely exclusively on wind for dispersion of their pollen. Many flowers attract pollinators with flashy color. Some reward their pollinators with sweet nectar. Many prefer to use fragrance. Most flowers use a combination of two or more of these tactics. Fragrances are designed by the flowers that use...
Broccoli, Broccoli, The Veggie We All Know
UNITED STATES—I love its raw form, but if you place a spoonful of cooked broccoli on my plate, the chance of me eating it greatly decreases. Broccoli is apart of the cabbage family. It’s a veggie as a kid, I would always indulge in; only if it was raw. That’s the one quality many are unaware of when it...