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 The nice thing about remodeling an older home in a neighborhood of such homes is that you need simply walk around the area with your eyes open to find ideas for exterior architectural details.
That's what Aaron Raymond did when he remodeled his 1942 French Normandy home in the Windsor Hills area of Los Angeles. While previous owners had taken off the decorative corbels on the front porch, Aaron noticed them on other homes in the neighborhood that had similar architecture. So he asked his carpenters to re-create them.
He used a similar tactic when thinking about his second-story addition. In other homes of likewise vintage, he noticed the second story hung over the first by several feet, with decorative corbels visually tying the two together. See that here.
We're not all lucky enough to live in neighborhoods with older homes, but if we are so fortunate, the homes themselves can be a great inspiration.
See the whole story of Aaron's remodel.
(After photo: Jay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles Times; before photo: Aaron Raymond)
 Do you ever feel you spend too much time outside enjoying yourself? I do.
While the dishes and laundry and dust are building up inside, I can usually be found outside watching the birds, fiddling with a fountain, pulling weeds, keeping track of my polliwogs and frogs, contemplating the garden, pondering my fall plantings.
And sometimes I feel a tinge of guilt about shirked responsibilities inside the house.
Well, no more. My newest excuse to be outside: I'm preventing disease.
I'm referring to a story in Monday's L.A. Times, Sunshine may be nature's disease fighter
Here's what the article says: A study released today found that men who are deficient in the so-called sunshine vitamin -- Vitamin D -- have more than double the normal risk of suffering a heart attack.
Just last week, another study found that low levels of Vitamin D increase the risk of diabetes, and a study last month linked deficiencies to an increased risk of dying from breast cancer.
The findings join a growing body of evidence indicating that an adequate level of the vitamin, which many people can get from 20 minutes in the sun, is crucial to maintaining good health.
So spending time outside is not a vacation from household duties. It a duty to one's health. Don't you agree?
(Photo: Kathy Price-Robinson)
I'm not a cat person so I can't judge this home-improvement innovation. Would your own kitty like a "cat run" like this for sunbathing, bird watching, tree climbing?
And all without the danger of getting eaten by coyotes and other howlers? I mean, why should dogs have all the fun in their runs?
What would your kitty think of all this?
See the whole story and more photos in the Home section.
See a cat feeding station.
(Photo: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
 Question: I was recently building a children's playhouse and began to put the walls up. As I did, the neighbor who lives behind me came over and said that we were blocking her view. The view she has is of the back of our house. The playhouse would be approximately 8 to 9 inches above her 9-foot fence. She said she was going to find out if she could stop us from building it. Is this possible from a legal standpoint? Thanks, Marcus
Answer: From Pardon Our Dust's "resident builder" Alon Toker:
It depends on what exactly is being constructed. Is it built to function like a treehouse or a kid's playhouse? Or is it built as a permanent structure that could be used as a spare bedroom or office?
If the former, this is not a building-and-safety, planning or zoning issue and the city is likely to stay out of it. If it's the latter, however, plans and permits would be needed as well as inspections, and if these were not secured, the neighbor might have unwelcome leverage.
The noted 9-foot fence, by the way, might be counter-leverage that works to your advantage, as it too might not be legal. The typical maximum fence height allowed is 6 feet.
To read for yourself what the City of Los Angeles building code says about accessory buildings, pergolas, retaining walls, excavation in cemeteries and more, click here.
Alon Toker is president of Mega Builders in Chatsworth. If you have a building-related question, e-mail it to podblog@aol.com and include "Resident Builder" in the subject line.
(Photo: Playhouses.com)
See more Q&A
 Dear SoCal Gardeners: My mother-in-law gave me this Chinese elm tree (click photo to enlarge) and I planted it about five years ago.
It's never done that well. It grows fast but the leaves get blackened and the branches break off.
The latest break took off about a third of the tree, and it looks as if it's rotten inside. There are little reddish marks along most branches, which I imagine are some type of pest.
I don't want to fight these pests with chemicals. Maybe I don't water it enough? But I don't want a tree that needs a bunch of water. Maybe my climate is too humid or cool for an elm to grow easily? I'm a few miles from the ocean and we get the marine layer. If it's the climate, I'll just take the rest of the tree down and allow the volunteer oak underneath it to grow up instead.
Fellow SoCal garden enthusiasts: Any suggestions? Insights? Experiences with elms?
(Do you have a SoCal gardening question for this forum? Please send an email to podblog@aol.com or post below.)
(Photos: Kathy Price-Robinson)
At the urging of reader "tarbubble," I asked the designers at Pamela Burton & Company what lawn substitutes they used on their award-winning Malibu landscape (which was featured previously on this blog).
I got a response from Burton associate Stephen Billings. First of all, regarding grasses in lieu of lawn, he recommends referring to the Sunset Western Garden Book for a list of alternatives to turf for lawns.
As for this particular landscape, three of the ornamental grasses we used are:
• Muhlenbergia capillaris
• Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light'
• Nassella tenuissima
And here's more info I dug up:
Muhlenbergia capillaris (left): As summer is winding down and with it your blooming annuals and perennials, Muhlenbergia capillaris (Pink Muhly Grass) is springing up — giant puffballs of cotton-candy pink, so airy you expect a breeze to carry them away. A source of late-season color, this native grass is effortless to grow and tolerant of just about anything Mother Nature throws its way. The grass forms a nice little hedge, edging, or middle-of-the-border ribbon of color from spring through summer, but when the rosy-pink plumes arise on 4-foot stems, it grabs the garden spotlight. Tolerates heat, humidity, poor soil, and even drought. See a white version called White Cloud. (From home Depot)
Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' (right): A beautiful grass whose white margins on its very narrow leaves give it a creamy-pale green from a distance. Blooms late and doesn't tend to self-sow, although it may do so moderately in moist areas. Grows to 6 feet tall. (From Home and Garden TV)
Nassella tenuissima (left): Also called Mexican feather grass, it is soft and shiny in the spring garden. Nassella tenuissima should be trimmed severely in the later part of the summer as the seed heads start to dry. Once matured the seed is very fruitful and can become something of a pest. The florets are very prone to sticking in socks or the fur of your pets. This is not recommended for gardens near wild areas as the Mexican feather grass can easily escape. Sometimes sold as Stipa tenuissima. (From California Gardens.com)
(Photos: Muhlenbergia capillaris: Home Depot; Miscanthus sinesis: HGTV; Nassella tenuissima: California Gardens)
 What's the best part of a vacation? It's coming home, right?
So why not make the whole vacation the best part and stay home in the first place. You save $50 to $120 on each tank of gas you don't use. You save $15 on each piece of luggage you don't put on an American Airlines plane. And think of the carbon credits! Get out the halos.
But staying home for vacation — a staycation — requires a little preparation to make the place feel special. Here are some tips to make your home a destination:
• Wash the windows. That alone could make many homes feel resort-like.
• Place pots and vases of flowers around the place. Act like some company's coming that you want to impress with your gracious lifestyle.
• Plan a few creative projects: Make the gumbo you've always wanted to attempt, or a stained-glass window, or a gravel pathway through the garden.
• Buy a new outdoor grill. You could spend your tax rebate on this. And when you cook on this throughout the summer, and avoid heating up the house with indoor cooking, the carbon credits just keep on coming.
• Stock up on books and read them. Maybe that's why people fly so much, to justify a few hours reading. Just calculate how much time you spend packing, driving to the airport, parking, standing in the ticket line, going through security, waiting for your flight, getting your flight cancelled, waiting in line to reschedule your flight, waiting for that flight, missing your connecting flight, waiting to use the restroom, and so on. It adds up to quite a few chapters.
• And finally, set out some bird seed and watering dishes and sit back and enjoy the show.
Read more on staycations at MSNBC, Consumer Reports and the Wall Street Journal.
Your plans?
(Photo: Kathy Price-Robinson)
 Pamela Burton & Co. won an Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects for the gardens and hardscape (seen above) at a Malibu beachfront home.
At first, the owner wanted lots of bright green turf. But the designers explained how that would be out of place with the sand and chaparral of the local natural geography and would need gobs of water. Eventually, the design team —Pamela Burton, Stephanie Psomas, Andrea Zurik and Stephen Billings — persuaded the owner to plant a sustainable landscape with sandy trails and low-water-use plants.
See more pictures and the whole plot plan, which includes a permeable driveway.
(Photos: Bruce Botnick)
 A proposed amendment by the Canton City Council in Ohio could put homeowners who let their weeds and grass grow too high in jail.
As the law stands now, according to The Repository in Canton, more than 8 inches constitutes high grass or weeds and first-time violators face a minor misdemeanor, which carries up to a $150 fine and no jail time.
The new law would make a second offense a fourth-degree misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine of up to $250 and up to 30 days in jail. Ouch!
But here's the rub: With an increasing number of homes in foreclosure, and owned by the bank, there's no one to throw into the pokey.
I mean, you can't jail a bank. Can you?
What do you think about this proposed law? Do you have a few neighbors who could use a wake-up call on their weed issues?
(Photo: Kathy Price-Robinson)
SoCal swimming pools don't seem as popular as they once were. Maybe it's the $40,000 to $80,000 or higher price tag?
But how about looking at a photo of a pool? That I can afford. And color studies have shown that we are tremendously affected by the colors we observe. Blues and greens make us feel cooler, while oranges and reds make us feel warmer.
So in honor of today' scorching temperatures, I present you with the pool in the Los Olivos backyard of Michelle Griffoul and Michael Byrne. I feel cooler just looking at this, and I welcome you to use it as a screen saver.
And no, those aren't real stingrays, but ceramic tiles that Michelle made (she's a tile designer and manufacturer) and embedded in the bottom, along with other ceramic critters. If Michelle is not traveling, I'll bet money she's in this pool today.
If this was my house I'd be really fit, and here's why: Every evening, I'd walk back and forth, from street to front door, over and over again, just to enjoy the sensation of this lit walkway.
I'm sure this would make the folks at the International Dark Sky Association happy. After all, this is where you need nighttime light, on the ground, and not shooting out into the sky.
Read the whole story of this Westwood remodel in the Home section.
(Photo: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
 Out on my daily walk around a golf course community, I watched this Craftsman house being built. I watched it being framed and plastered and sided. I watched the windows go in and the roof go on. (This is the back of the house, the angle I see from the walking path.)
All the while, seeing that it had Craftsman architecture, I looked forward to the day when stone facing would grace the bottom of those distinctive tapered columns, and perhaps on the bottom of the walls as well.
But when the house was finished, the stone did not appear, though a "for sale" sign did. It may have been a "spec" house. The builder may have run out of money. I'm not sure if it ever sold. It sits vacant to this day.
My very strong feeling is that this house needs stone. It's crying out for it. And so to help the owner (who may very well be reading this blog), I've taken the liberty of photographing four different types of stone facing I've seen my walks. They are below.
If this was your house, and you were charged with choosing the desperately needed stone facade, which of the following four styles would you select?
 So what do you do when your prized market umbrella goes flying off in the wind and breaks two spokes? And what do you do when your avocado trees are putting out so much fruit you fear the boughs will break?
In my case, with this very scenario, I put a free ad on Craigslist saying I would trade organic avocados for umbrella repair.
Five people answered my ad, including one fellow who had a list of electronic gizmos he was trying to unload. Seems he could almost taste the guacamole such a trade would bring him.
I chose the guy who said he had a carpentry shop nearby, and I was to drop off the umbrella the following Saturday. When I couldn't reach him that day, I feared I had a flake on my hands. Maybe barter is too much trouble, I thought.
As it turns out, his pregnant wife had gone into premature labor and they had been at the hospital. This is what happens with barter. Instead of some impersonal clerk at a big box store, you're dealing with individual human beings with real lives. It's kind of shocking. But I think I can get used to it.
I dropped off the umbrella the weekend before last, along with a bag of avocados as a down payment, and went out of town for a few days. When I got back, I e-mailed the carpenter, who said the repairs had been done. I brought another bag of avocados to settle the bill and got a tour of the shop where he makes furniture out of salvaged wood.
My umbrella is home now, with two new spokes made of some kind of salvaged exotic hardwood, and lovely copper nails where the pieces hinge together.
In this uncertain economy, I feel like being more careful with my cash. And with avocados as my new currency, who knows how far I'll go with the bartering?
After this, I think I'll start referring to myself as a writer and a farmer. It has a nice ring to it.
 Question: Could you post an article on the responsible way to plant bamboo? Proper selection and planting could help neighbors retain friendship as well as money. My neighbor's bamboo invaded my landscape, costing us a few thousand dollars and a huge headache. Thank you, Riley E.
P.S. Thanks about the previous post on horsetail. I just had my $5 initial investment removed for $300!
Answer: From landscape designer and TV outdoor living expert Pamela Berstler, co-owner of Flower to the People in Los Angeles:
You have two main choices when selecting bamboo for a landscape: clumping bamboo or running bamboo. In general, the clumping types are native to tropical climates, and the running types are native to areas that get cold winters. Clumping bamboos will create ever-widening circles (yes, clumps), and may, over time, require re-introduction of plant material into the middle of the circle.
Running bamboos spread out horizontally, in an almost straight line; hence the name "running."
Clumping bamboos are relatively easy to keep in check. When new shoots appear, they can be removed using a sharp spade or tree saw.
But running bamboos are very difficult to keep in check if not planted right. It is best to install running bamboos with a solid root barrier at least 30 inches deep that defines the area within which the bamboo can "run." The barrier can be 30 millimeter or thicker plastic with UV protection, or poured concrete. Again, it just has to be deep beneath the grade, and we recommend bringing it above the grade at least 4 inches. Some of the more aggressive running bamboos can "jump" the barrier, so stay on the lookout for escapees.
One way to keep all types of bamboo in check is to reduce the irrigation provided them. Bamboo should be watered infrequently and deeply. Since bamboo is a grass, it will store a lot of water in its stalk; reducing the supplemental water will slow down the growth rate. If you border a bamboo area with completely compacted, dry soil, and you follow the reduced irrigation method, even running bamboos may be held in check. But, and this gets directly to the question posed here, they may run to a neighbor's yard, if there's a lot of irrigation going on within 15 feet to 20 feet of the bamboo planter area.
More instructions for controlling and removing running bamboo are available from George Shor of the Southern California Chapter of the American Bamboo Society.
 My entry into the world of barter — the new world order referenced above — is the result of a perfect storm consisting of (1) a broken Pottery Barn market umbrella, (2) my ridiculously fruitful avocado trees and (3) the miracle that is Craigslist.
The umbrella is a delightful red and blue paisley that goes so well with my newly red house. I got the umbrella at the end of the season last year for only $39 plus shipping. So for about $50 I got an umbrella that originally cost $129 plus shipping.
After I enjoyed its shade on my back patio for a few months, we had some unusual wind events (global climate change?), and one day it went flying in the wind, landed on its side and ended up with two broken spokes.
I pondered those broken wooden spokes for a few months. They have hinges in the middle, and the spokes are broken there, so it's not just a matter of glue and screws. I could not send this umbrella off to the landfill, but neither could I fix it myself nor find an umbrella repair shop nearby.
Finally it occurred to me that someone I might find on Craigslist could fix it, and I soon realized a big basket of organic avocados of uncommonly good taste (according to many witnesses) would be the perfect barter bait.
I posted my proposal yesterday with photos of the broken umbrella and a close-up of the fruit ripening in the sun. Within 24 hours I had two responses, and I chose the one that sounded most promising. I'm dropping the umbrella off to the guy today, with a bag of avocados as a "down payment."
I'll let you know how, and if, it works out.
Have you ever bartered? Would you recommend it to others?
 You don't need to share with me the definition of insanity: trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Been there (bought junk), done that (had it fail), still slipping into it.
Specifically, I'm talking about the solar fountain I bought ignorantly and impulsively at Home Depot last October. I paid $225 for this thing, which I was told had been special ordered for another customer who never picked it up. It had no label, no packaging, no instruction manual, and certainly no guarantee.
And worst of all, it had no endorsement from my peers on the Internet. I've come to rely on the "truthiness" of strangers in choosing restaurants, hotels, furniture, my car, you name it. I look at reader reviews on Epinions, Travelosity, The Guide, Edmunds, Consumer Reports, and other websites.
So it came to pass that I abandoned all my good sense and bought this fountain. Once I posted about it, a wise reader mentioned that these things don't usually last too long. But I thought it wouldn't happen to me. Aren't I special? Apparently not. The pump died about a month ago, never to move water again. And it can't be opened up, and it's got no name on it. Pure junk.
So, I've got the panel, which has a built-in battery, and I'm going to see if it can have another life as a laptop charger. But the fountain has been relegated to a bird bath. It's not bad looking. But $225 is a lot to pay for not much benefit. Here's to hoping I end the insanity and stop buying garbage.
Isn't this just the most sumptuous, comfortable, amazing outdoor room? Isn't this why we live in a Mediterranean climate? This lovely outdoor space is in a Manhattan Beach backyard, featured in the L.A. Times' Home section, and I could move in today. See the photo gallery.
My favorite elements: The cushions hanging against the retaining wall on the right. The relaxed look of the family. And that little doggie. What do you like about it? Or do you?
(Photo: Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
 So imagine this: One day you look out your front window and see a gleaming 90-foot power pole in front of your house that was not there before.
You're shocked because you had no notice or warning from the power company, Edison. And that's because Edison has the right of way and is not required to give you notice, according to an article in the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
This house is in Lakewood, on the northeast corner of Palo Verde Avenue and Centralia Street, in front of Bill and Shelby Ranson's home of 15 years. An older, shorter, wooden pole on the corner is not an eyesore to them. But this one, right in front of their home, is not setting well with them. They are livid and want the pole removed. Edison says it's for the greater good.
The Ransons know getting the pole removed is a long shot, and Bill is quoted in the story as saying: "We're humble, little ant-like people going up against this huge, mega-corporation. We don't want to mess with them, but what happened wasn't right."
What if a pole like this landed in front of your house? Would you fight it? Or accept it?
(Photo: Long Beach Press-Telegram)
 Here's a clever idea, seen in a Santa Monica garden, for paths in your own patch of paradise. You can reuse old bricks, garden tools, tiles, terra cotta pot bottoms and whatnot to make your green journey a little more interesting.
(Photo: Sharon Cavanagh)
 I never planned on creating a gathering place for frogs, known as a froggery. But I did nevertheless.
It started with a simple fountain on my back patio, which I set up in a pot to hear the sound of water. I added some water plants for variety.
One day, as I was adding fresh water to the pot, and letting it overflow onto the concrete, what should come falling out but a dozen or so pollywogs!
Grabbing a stiff piece of poster board, I scooped them up and put them back. I was happy about the frogs because we use no pesticides or other poisons in or around our house (other than something we had to do about ants around the foundation), and I know that frogs are super sensitive and will only thrive where conditions are fairly pure.
Then I got to thinking: What happens when these little fellows grow legs and jump out of the pot onto the concrete? They won't be able to jump back in and will perish. So I went down to Home Depot and got a molded pond, sunk it into a nearby planter bed, and used a tropical fish net to move the pollywogs to their new home.
They grew nicely, turned into frogs, and come back each spring to lay more eggs. Now I have two frog hatcheries, as I now see eggs in a small pot I set out for the birds. Each night, one frog from each station calls out and the other responds. It's like in old-time movies where women hanging laundry talk over the backyard fence.
Click here to listen in.
 Men, could this be true? You're abandoning your man-caves for man-kitchens and man-patios?
This emerging (get it?) trend was announced in a press release for ReVision, a remodeling company that won an award for the outdoor man-kitchen you see here.
Todd Senft, from the Canadian remodeling company, said the project was created for "a young entrepreneurial bachelor, who doesn't want to just sit in front of the TV, watching sports and drinking beer. Guys like him are into cooking, into wine, and they want to impress friends, family and clients. He wants to be responsible for feeding his own guests."
Plus: "It's an evolution in sophistication: more and more we see guys, like this client, who have great ideas for customizing their own kitchens. They've given it some thought and they know what they want."
This outdoor space incorporates a bar, open kitchen, barbecue pit, fireplace, eight-person hot tub and a shower/change area. It has poured concrete countertops, an intricate surround sound speaker system hidden in the 1-by-4 tongue-and-groove cedar ceiling, and a large outdoor fireplace and overhead gas heater.
What I'm not seeing here is any mention of a large-screen TV for watching college basketball, professional basketball, college football, professional football, soccer, golf, baseball, poker, boxing, mixed martial arts and the upcoming Olympic Games.
So I wonder — observing my own household — is this strictly a Canadian trend?
Check out the same client's indoor man-kitchen. Love that masculine pebble backsplash!
 In case a new deck is in your future, your decision-making-process just got more complicated. Here are some new products being introduced by TimberTech:
BuilderRail (top photo) is kind of cool looking with black metal balusters and composite rails. It was introduced at the 2008 International Builders Show in Orlando, Fla., and the rails are available in three colors: cedar, gray and redwood. The black metal balusters are galvanized inside and out and powder coated, and require virtually no maintenance.
XLM deck planks, which are made of PVC plastic, are available in three colors — SandRidge, RiverRock (center photo) and Mountain Cedar — and can be installed with TimberTech's system of hidden stainless steel fasteners.
RadianceRail (bottom photo) is made of composite material capped with a PVC layer and is now available in three new colors — SandRidge, RiverRock and Mountain Cedar — to match the company's new XLM deck boards. Kits are available in 6-foot and 8-foot sections in 36-inch and 42-inch rail height.
My two cents: There are so many decking and railing options available that I really can't say which is better. If you've installed composite, wood or PVC decking and been happy or unhappy with it, please post a comment below.
 Reader Jose wrote in to suggest getting worn patio furniture refurbished as an alternative to hauling it to the landfill. What a concept.
While Native Americans suggest thinking of the impact of our actions seven generations into the future, we would do well to consider seven seasons in the future. For instance, what will this outdoor furniture be like in seven seasons? Will it be relegated to the landfill, where its remains will live on many generations into the future?
Or, will this furniture I'm buying look a bit ragged in seven years and be worthy of a new paint job?
Jose says he is getting his patio chairs refinished by Patio Guys, a 30-year-old company in Vista that serves customers from San Diego to Santa Barbara.
Here's how it works: For a small fee, the company will pick up your patio furniture and repaint and redo it as appropriate. The cost will be less than buying new stuff, but that's not the main point. The main issue is the garbage we leave for future generations to deal with.
But is junky outdoor furniture worthy of being refinished? Not necessarily. Here are some FAQs from the company's website:
Is my furniture worth re-doing? If it is Brown Jordan, Tropitone, Mallin or Woodard, most certainly yes. If you're not sure of the manufacturer, furniture that has passed the "test of time" or lasted you five years or more, chances are excellent that you have a quality set.
Do you powder coat paint? Yes. Powder coat paint is the same type of paint used by most manufacturers. Oven-cured at 400 degrees, powder coat paint is three times thicker than liquid paint and resists chipping, fading, and oxidation.
What will I save vs. buying new furniture? With the price of patio furniture in today's market you can see savings of over 70%, but normally refinishing is about 30%-50% of replacement cost.
One related tip from Patio Guys: Umbrellas should NOT be left open overnight.
The company can be reached at www.patioguysinc.com or (800) 310-4897.
 During these lovely spring days, your thoughts may turn to buying an inexpensive metal garden swing with a charming fabric canopy.
I have one short piece of advice for you: DON'T DO IT!
Pictured here (bottom) is one of these swings I spotted on a SoCal balcony. The metal is rusted. The fabric is rotted and torn. And it's not because of abuse. My own inexpensive swing (top) deteriorated in just a couple of years and I finally took off the rotten canopy.
Now I'm wondering what to do with it. I thought I might sew a new canopy, but I seem to be allergic to my sewing machine. One idea is to get some of that webbing that you use on lawn furniture and weave it back and forth over the top to create some kind of shelter.
Any more ideas? If you've replaced your rotten canopy with something, please, please e-mail a photo.
And if you're tempted by one of these cheap models as you stroll through a garden section this spring, please take my advice, and do not yield to that temptation. Otherwise you'll be looking at a mess like this in a few short years. And that's what's called living unsustainably.
You're better off getting an all-wood swing, or paying more for a high-quality swing with a long-lasting material like Sunbrella.
Any suggestions for my poor, pathetic swing?
Here's what was showing off yesterday in SoCal front yards.
Hey, does anyone know what that thing is on the top left? It looks Australian.
Another way to express ourselves: House numbers!
(Photos: KPR)
 Question: Could you find a landscaper to comment on pros/cons of pea gravel in a residential setting? I'm entranced with the look, and permeable hardscape is important to me.
However, when I research on the Internet, I find most postings by homeowners are negative: It does not stay put if there are children or dogs in the household, neighborhood cats use it as litterbox, ants build mega cities in it, it's not a realistic choice if children run barefoot in the yard, a wheelbarrow pushed down the path creates ruts and sends pebbles into the flower beds.
I've also read that 2 inches is not sufficient and that 6 inches is needed and that the gravel should be mixed with aggregate to stabilize it better.
Answer: From Pamela Berstler, landscape designer of Flower to the People in Los Angeles:
We LOVE gravel as a mulch in the garden, and most people in the Mediterranean would agree with that assessment. It reflects heat, but protects roots, and it maintains moisture, reducing the need for irrigation, and does not decompose and require replacement.
The wide variety of local colored stone can really enhance a natural landscape installation, but we try to stay away from exotic or excessively processed material, as it is not a sustainable solution.
Gravel mulch and pathways require different treatments. In the garden beds, as mulch, 2 inches is pretty much the maximum required (not 6 inches). You actually want to use less rather than more, as the deeper the gravel application, the more difficult to keep it away from the base of plants, keep ruts out and keep it from spilling everywhere. When the application is thin and slightly compacted, it works beautifully. And of course, we recommend NO weed barrier beneath.
The optimal type of gravel will vary for pathways and planting beds. Gravel in the planting beds can be rounder, and perhaps even smaller — as small as 3/8-inch diameter, and as round as a beach pebble. Our favorite simple gravel for mulch in planter beds is 3/8-inch to 1-inch Del Rio pebble, but pretty much anything will work.
For pathways, there are more basic rules. First, gravel pathways are best installed over a stabilized base — stabilized compacted soil, decomposed granite or a plastic grid like a grasspave work the best, and only about 3/4-inch to 1-inch depth is required. Second, gravel pathways must be contained with a barrier that rises 1 inch above grade at a minimum. We like stone edging (classy and very Mediterranean), but bender board, aluminum or steel edging would work too. Third, and perhaps most important, the type of gravel needs to be the sharper-edged gravel, not the rounded beach stone. The sharper gravel will grab on to its neighbor and become firmer and easier to walk on than the rounded stones.
E-mail Pamela
(Photo: Flower to the People)
 High-tech wizards have tried to get us to use our computers to control so many mundane daily tasks: opening and closing the drapes, turning on the hot tub, setting back our thermostats.
But so far, we've resisted, finding a quick yank on the drapery pull easy enough.
But here's a device that might tip us toward high tech: a computer-controlled and weather-report-influenced sprinkler system.
Here's how the Cyber-Rain system works: You program into your computer how much water and when you'd like each zone in your automatic sprinkler system to get. What are your zones? You name them in the software so you can recall them easier, such as the "side yard near Bob and Jean's house." Or the "strip near the street."
The Cyber-Rain Access Point gizmo (which attaches through a USB port to your PC) sends a wireless signal to the controller telling it what to do and when. And it keeps track of water usage. And it adjusts for Daylight Savings Time.
But here's the cool part: The software checks the weather report each day through your computer and, if rain is indicated, it'll shut down watering for the following 24 hours.
According to the company: "Nearly 70 percent of landscape watering ends up as runoff contributing directly to pollution and water waste. The EPA ranks urban runoff and storm sewer discharges as the second most prevalent source of water quality impairment in our nation’s estuaries."
The system costs $349 and the company claims it will likely pay for itself in seven months because of decreased water usage.
 My mother-in-law is visiting from Santa Barbara and wonders if she can rinse off her truck at my house. It's no longer allowed in her town.
As the population explodes here on the planet, supplies of fresh water don't seem to be keeping up. Something has to give.
A helpful article in Sunday's newspaper, headlined "More changes that help conserve water at home," guides SoCal homeowners through the increasing mandates to cut back.
For instance:
"Long Beach has forbidden using hoses to wash off patios, driveways, sidewalks and parking areas unless the hose has a certified water conserving nozzle; a regular on-off nozzle doesn't qualify. Residents are allowed to water on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, and "inefficient" sprinkler systems -- those that over-spray, soak sidewalks or apply too much water -- also are forbidden."
I like the idea of landscaping consistent with the natural environment. Here's a quote from Kim O'Cain, spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Environmental Programs Division:
"The California-friendly landscape uses 90% less water, creates half the yard waste and takes about half the work of lawn, once the plants are established."
When saving water means saving money and less work for me, you've got my attention.
But here's what intrigues me:
The article states that while 10% of water in Southern California is used by residents watering their lawns and gardens, 80% of the water in Southern California is used for agriculture.
So if I'm changing my life to adjust to more people and less water, and my 85-year-old mother-in-law can't rinse off her car, what life-altering measures are these companies taking to save water?
Are agribusinesses sacrificing as much as we are?
Wouldn't that be a fascinating thing to learn?
(Photo: Manzanita, California native, by KPR)
 After countless vain attempts to locate a solar-powered fountain similar to the one I stumbled upon at my local Home Depot, I've decided the better way is to find the components and assemble one myself.
The elements are shown above: fountain + pump/solar panel = solar-powered fountain.
Fountain: The fountains come from places like OSH, where I snapped a photo of this one. In the past, I thought it tacky that most of the fountains I've seen say "pump not included" on the price tag. But now I think that's perfect because I don't want a pump that plugs into the power grid, but one that plugs into the sun, via a solar panel.
This faux-stone fountain (see larger view), which is about 3 feet high, costs about $150. The pump fits inside the bottom basin and the water is pumped via a tube behind the fountain and up to the top. See that here. I found fountains at OSH and other stores for $50 and up. The key for me is to find a fountain with shallow places where birds can bathe and frolic. One deep well or bowl, for instance, will not work. This fountain has two shallow lips where water gathers and then spills over. The bottom bowl is a bit deeper and I might put rocks in there to create more places to perch. I realize that inviting birds to a fountain cause problems with droppings and feathers that can clog the pump. But that's a price I will pay.
Pump and solar panel: I've located two pump/panel combinations. The one pictured here is from a company called Improvements. I've never done business with them, but they do have a brick-and-mortar retail store in Ohio, and that always makes me feel more secure. This pump/solar panel costs $99 and has some neat features, including a battery that charges up to run the fountain when the sun goes down, and an AC plug to run it from the grid. The same item without the battery backup is $69. This setup pumps 43 gallons per hour, with a maximum lift of 27 1/2 inches. If the distance between where the pump sits and where you want the water to come out is more than that, you have to get a larger pump. My fountain is unique in that the pump sits up high underneath the second tier and the water gets lifted only about 8 inches to the top tier, where it can spill over. See it here.
Another pump/panel I've located is from a company called Gaiam, which I have done business with and like very much. The pump/solar panel offered by Gaiam is only $59, but it has a few drawbacks. First, there is no battery backup available, so the pump will only run when the sun directly hits the panel. And second, the Gaiam pump uses a motor with brushes inside, and the company says you can expect two years of use from the pump. The pump from Improvements uses a brushless motor, and those tend to last longer, though the website doesn’t mention an expected life span.
If you do buy a fountain, and add your own solar-powered pump, please e-mail me a digital photo of it when you've got it up and running.
 Walking through neighborhoods is so enlightening. You get to check out house colors you're considering, or decorative stone faces, or architectural details.
You can also see the real life of plants, far from the dreams and fantasies you harbor at the nursery, far from the lovely images of well-tended gardens in designer books and magazines.
You get to see what happens to plants that are not taken care of.
A case in point is Equisetum, the delightful California native commonly called horsetail (pictured above in two SoCal yards). It's characterized by slender, hollow, leafless reeds with ringed joints. It looks exotic, hardy and Zen-like.
You can imagine an innocent soul at the nursery, taken in by this plant's allure, handing over a few bucks in a moment that could well become a long battle for control of the yard.
This plant has a creeping root system that can, as you see from the photo on the right, invade places you never wanted it to go. And its aggressive nature can choke out everything else in sight.
On the Garden Web forum, comments like this should be fair warning: Giant horsetails, the thugs, on steroids? Be mighty careful where and how you plant them, & let us know if your house disappears (LOL)
I'm no garden expert, but I've heard this advice on horsetail enough times to repeat it here: Confine this beast to a pot. Or else, prepare for battle.
 This is my own dilemma:
Question: I love the look of vine-covered houses, which look to me like storybook houses. But my husband hates it. We do have invasive ivy growing on our house, and it's awful. It pushes its way under the roof rafters and into the house. And it gets full of dust and bugs.
But I wonder if there might me another way for me to get the look I like. Is there another vine you could recommend or something else I'm not thinking of?
For inspiration, I turned to Pamela Berstler, an outdoor living expert who appears often on TV home shows, and co-owner of Flower to the People in Los Angeles:
Answer: The type of vine is only one element to consider when covering house walls with greenery. Another, perhaps even more important consideration, is how the greenery attaches itself to the wall, if at all.
Any vigorous grower that is suitable for covering a large vertical space like a wall or fence will have some unsavory characteristics like wanting to push through stucco cracks or under roof tiles, or around window trim; this behavior is not limited to the non-native invasive species that we would NOT want to use anyway like English and Algerian ivy or creeping fig. Even beautiful climbers like purple or red trumpet vine, passionflower, chocolate vine or hardenbergia can be inconsiderate guests if allowed to attach themselves directly to the wall of the house.
We use different attachment methods, depending upon the vine and the type of wall (stucco, brick, wood or cementitious siding, metal). In almost all cases, we want the vine to APPEAR to climb up the wall without actually touching it.
Read on »
 I'll be blogging live next month from the International Builders Show in Orlando, Fla., but manufacturers are introducing so many new products now that I'm getting a head start.
One of these is TimberWolf, a wood-composite fencing material made by FiberTech Polymers of Santa Ana. The fencing is manufactured, the company says, from 100% post-consumer recycled wood fiber and plastic. The phrase "post-consumer" is the key here, which means the materials were used and then recycled, rather than being scraps or overflow from a manufacturing process, which is what post-industrial recycling is all about. For me, finding a use for all these plastics and wood fibers (paper!) we recycle is a good thing.
The fencing material was introduced in 2007, and this year the company is offering complete kits. Fencing kits include boards and backer rails to build one 68-inch-by-70-inch fence panel, while post kits include a fence post, post cap and galvanized pipe.
TimberWolf fencing products, available in certain Lowe’s stores, are installed with normal wood-working tools, but coarse-tooth carbide saw blades are recommended to minimize clogging. (Read installation tips.) The fencing can be painted, but the company doesn't recommend it, as that creates a maintenance issue. The product does not need paint protection to withstand the elements, and it can be cleaned with water and trisodium phosphate, or TSP. It comes in five colors, including cedar and redwood.
The top photo shows a basket-weave configuration, and the bottom photo shows a shadow-box "good neighbor" style, which means you alternate the fence boards in front of and behind the framing members.
Trex also offers a line of composite fencing, and Fiberon plans to introduce composite fencing this year.
 I'm loving my new solar-powered fountain, which gives me the soothing sounds of water outside my office window without running up my electric bill. And I feel connected to nature, as the fountain begins running in the morning only after the sun comes up. Because it has a 6-volt battery that gets charged up during the day, it runs far into the night or early next morning before running out of steam.
(When you live in Southern California, you can buy a solar-powered fountain with winter coming on and no one will think you're loony.)
But gosh this fountain was hard to find. Once I decided I had to have a solar fountain, I checked at four local garden shops and OSH. Everyone I spoke with thought a solar-powered fountain was a dandy idea, but no one carried them. Online, I found a nice-looking one at Gaiam, but as I dug deeper into the Internet, the reviews by other purchasers of that style weren't very glowing.
Finally, I stumbled across the fountain at my local Home Depot. It was sitting dry and dejected off to the side, and it turns out it was special-ordered for a customer who never picked it up. The 6-by-10-inch solar panel caught my eye, and I got the garden staff to fill the fountain with water to test it out. The panel had been sitting in the sun for who knows how long, and so was fully charged, and the water started gurgling immediately. It seemed like magic.
I bought the 30-inch-high, granite-looking resin thing for $220 (way too much!), with the guarantee that I could bring it back if it didn't work out right. But it has no label, no box, no instruction manual, no nothing. I can't find it anywhere on the Internet.
If you know of a good source for solar-powered fountains, please comment below.
 The story you are about to hear is shocking, so don't fall off your chair when I tell you:
The remodel of this 1948 Hawthorne home was designed by a 16-year-old, David, and built by him and his father Norbert, a schoolteacher, during a summer break.
Since then, David has been accepted into the respected architecture program at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. And you can see why. The original post-war home had minimal design. The front stoop is not exactly a grand entrance. And, it led straight into the living room.
David's parents had lived in the house nearly three decades when David decided his mom Linda needed the new kitchen she had been talking about for years. He started sketching out his ideas, and eventually she was convinced he could do it. Part of the plan included pushing the right side of the house toward the street to create a dining room. That would place the front door in the center of the facade and would create an actual front porch.
David also wanted to add a Craftsman flair to the house, which he did with lap siding, thick moldings and highlighted gable ends. Notice how the roofline on the addition matches the other two peaks? That's a good eye.
And moving the kitchen window, on the left, to sit directly under the peak of the roof, added balance. His mom was worried about losing her corner view from the kitchen, but he added a larger window on the side (not seen in this photo) and she was actually happier with that.
How do you think David did with this design?
Would you do anything different?
Reader Martin L. sends this request:
I need to re-roof my wood shake canyon home in Los Angeles. We are considering Japanese ceramic tile, and that requires an engineering certification. What's a good source for engineers who will do this work in L.A. We've contacted a couple who "refuse" L.A. jobs. Thanks.
Any ideas for him?
 In the days or weeks between the time you choose your house colors and the day the paint goes on, doubt can creep in.
"Oh, man, that's bright," the painting contractor thought when he visited the house with the colors I wanted him to match.
"It looks like clown colors," his lead man told him.
After my stepdaughter Amy saw the house I wanted to match, she drove me around town to see some other reds and greens she liked better.
Only my husband Bill gave me comfort: "Just go for it," he said. "Be bold."
When the grayish-green primer went on, my own resolve weakened. "That's a nice color," I told Bill. "It's safe." He reiterated his view: "Go for what you wanted."
The turning point came when the lead man, Brandon, painted patches of the two colors onto the primed wall (which you can see on the bottom right in this photo). Hey, that red's not bad, he said. And the green? Amy and I looked through the color fan the contractor had brought, pulling leaves from various plants to see how they would blend with various paint hues. Finally, we decided the original green I wanted would probably be fine.
I'm thankful I didn't have to run my colors past the board of a homeowners association. These were enough opinions for me to deal with in one day.
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The nice thing about remodeling an older home in a neighborhood of such homes is that you need simply walk around the area with your eyes open to find ideas for exterior architectural details.
