SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An 896-acre property inside the gates of Yosemite National Park has hit the market for $2.477 million. Read More ⇒

Dear Aggie, Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — After finding no takers last year at $11.2 million, Liam Payne of One Direction fame has changed real estate agents and relisted his compound in the Santa Monica Mountains near Calabasas for $10.75 million. Read More ⇒

It is Tuesday evening here in Michigan at the Eicher homestead. All is quiet with only son Kevin and daughter Loretta home with Joe and me. The rest of our children here at home went to a wedding for supper. Daughter Susan and Mose are making living quarters in the finished side of our pole … Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — Even in real estate, Pharrell Williams’ style stands out. The Grammy-winning artist’s Hollywood Hills home — a dazzling glass-covered compound known as the Skyline Residence — has come up for sale at $11.95 million. Read More ⇒

Typically, the words Royal Hawaiian would direct your thoughts to tropical islands, vacations and exotic getaways among lush foliage and clear blue seas. As wonderful as those dreams seem, I won’t try to anticipate your travel plans for the summer but instead invite you to let the words Roya… Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — It’s been a rocky road for Sylvester Stallone in La Quinta, but the movie star is trying to knock out a home sale in the resort city once more. His desert digs are back on the market for $3.35 million, or $849,000 less than his original asking price five years ago. Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — Actor Christopher Meloni, who will soon be back on the case in an upcoming “Law & Order” spinoff, has put his home in the Hollywood Hills on the market for $6.495 million. Read More ⇒

New at the garden center this year is one of those petunias that is a rare jewel of a color. It’s one that catches your eye and stops you in your tracks; it is Supertunia Mini Vista Indigo. By all means don’t let the mini throw you for even a second. This is the little indigo that could, or … Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — It may be some time before baseball returns to Los Angeles, but that’s not stopping St. Louis Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt from landing a new offseason dugout. The businessman was the buyer of Eva Longoria’s Hollywood Hills compound. Read More ⇒

It may be called Poquito, which means a little, but I promise you in the case of Poquito Butter Yellow agastache it delivers color to the garden like a champion. In September, this new hummingbird mint won the prestigious Classic City Award in University of Georgia Trials. Read More ⇒

Lots of things are described as a “system.” There is a medical system, a circulatory system, a court system, a solar system, a computer operating system and a school system just for starters. One of the systems that has made the news lately is the food system. Based on the news, it seems mor… Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — Longtime Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, who joined the Indianapolis Colts this offseason as a free agent, has put his home in San Diego’s gated Santaluz community on the market for $4.199 million. Read More ⇒

Insects and diseases in the vegetable garden and on fruit plantings are minimal under the natural organic program, but the occasional serious pests have relatively easy solutions. Read More ⇒

Each spring I wake to the sound of a bird purring in my neighbor’s trees. Now, I know birds don’t purr, but that’s the best word I could come up with to describe the sound. It wasn’t chirping. It didn’t seem like a flirty mating song. It was a little like a throaty, thrumming hoot. Could it … Read More ⇒

The day you look at a Wedgewood Blue Summer Snapdragon is the day you will get hooked and believe anything is possible with today’s flowers. It looks as though each flower is a rare piece of hand-painted porcelain. Wedgewood Blue is part of the Angelface series of summer snapdragons, which r… Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — NHL star P.K. Subban and former Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, who got engaged last year, appear to have taken the next step in their relationship: cohabitation. The couple were the buyers of a Beverly Hills Post Office-area home that sold earlier this month for $6.75 million. Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent later this year, has put his home in the North Ranch area of Westlake Village up for sale for $7.995 million. Read More ⇒

With worms, as lasagna layers, or processed at a municipal or community facility, “the beauty of composting is there’s no one way to do it,” the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation reports. Read More ⇒

Goodness, it is proving to be a “wonderfully wicked” year for coleus. In this case wicked is great and promises to add incredible color and texture to your garden. Wicked actually refers to two new colors or varieties in the ColorBlaze series of coleus. If you are like me you probably though… Read More ⇒

Every quarantined morning these days I sit on my front steps and watch a bee have its breakfast at a crocus or azalea, a tranquil reminder that while disruptions continue to the world of man, nature moves placidly along. Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — Above the Sunset Strip, a palatial estate with a wild Hollywood history is for sale at $29.995 million. Read More ⇒

ROCHESTER — The Nature Conservancy, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, is offering several ways for people to connect with nature, and each other, online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More ⇒

Threatened honey bees, endangered bumblebees, fading butterflies ... we hear alarms all the time about the global decline in pollinators, but does anybody really know how many are out there? Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — Actress Kaley Cuoco of “Big Bang Theory” fame has sold her home in Tarzana for $3.95 million, or about $3 million less than the original asking price — $6.9 million. Read More ⇒

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — The rocks started appearing around a Santa Clarita neighborhood weeks ago, early in the COVID-19 lockdown. Smooth stones, brightly painted, with images of a ladybug, the American flag, a rainbow. Read More ⇒

WATERTOWN — Fifty years ago, on the first Earth Day celebration, which the New York Times dubbed “an interlude of national contemplation of problems and man’s deteriorating environment,” this paper took note of some of the hot spots of pollution around the area. Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — Actor Shia LaBeouf has purchased a newly built home in Pasadena for $5.475 million. Read More ⇒

Waiting is always hard, but when you’re waiting for an unseen force that could, at any time, sicken or kill you, your family and your friends while devastating the global economy ... OMG OMG OMG ... Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — In 2012, Malaysian businessman Jho Low turned heads when he dropped a whopping $38.98 million on a Hollywood Hills mansion, redefining what a home could sell for in the celebrity-filled neighborhood. Read More ⇒

Now that we’ve been ordered to stay home, the surrealness of the global pandemic has set in. While many people are coming together virtually, now is a good time to tend to your houseplants. Does your Dracaena “lemon lime” need dusting? Is your Chinese evergreen getting too much sun? Are you … Read More ⇒

The best place to keep vegetable seed packets is in the refrigerator, where they are preserved and stored away from rodents and insects. But this habit comes at a price. I have several dozen half-used packets in the crisper, and there’s no place for the salad greens. Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — Tony Award-winning actor Joe Mantegna didn’t have to wait long to find a buyer for his Toluca Lake home. Read More ⇒

One of my favorite plants is either highly versatile, or very confused. On the one hand, professional herbivores like rabbits and deer refuse to even touch it, but many people, myself included, will gladly eat it every day it is available. While contacting it is painful, it has been proven t… Read More ⇒

Today was such a beautiful sunny day with the temperature around 60 degrees. Everyone is home due to the coronavirus precautions. It seems so different to not set an alarm. Of course, we sleep later since no one is leaving home. Read More ⇒

Americans have been showing their colors a lot since the coronavirus showed up as a special and surely unwanted spring guest. Just as red, white and blue stirs the heart and sends a message as Old Glory hangs from the door, your flowers can echo the theme throughout the landscape. Read More ⇒

PHILADELPHIA — Two weeks before Easter, the production lines for Peeps have stopped due to the coronavirus outbreak. But don’t expect a shortage on store shelves if you’re looking to celebrate the holiday at home. Read More ⇒

CHICAGO — As parents deal with the first days of school closings because of the coronavirus, it’s a new normal for nearly everyone. Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — Not many houses look like the L.A. home of Pharrell Williams. The ultra-modern compound — covered in glass and perched on four acres with city-to-ocean views — hit the market last week in the Beverly Hills Post Office area for $16.95 million. Read More ⇒

Shazam! All of a sudden everyone is thinking about growing a vegetable garden. Essentials disappearing from the local supermarket is at best a wake-up call. One thing for certain now that families are all together — there is no better way to teach children a little horticulture, pollination … Read More ⇒

Freeze! Everybody wash your hands. Read More ⇒

Plants make people happy. They inject our homes with life, personality and vitality. Read More ⇒

Worried about a sad-looking tree in your yard? Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — There are plenty of “Full House” fans out there, but apparently none with pockets deep enough to buy the show’s famous home. Read More ⇒

Dear Aggie, Why should I get a home energy assessment/audit? Read More ⇒