Jane Gates

Jane Gates

Jane fell in love with gardening as a small child, and her affair with nature has been the driving force in everything she has produced in her life. She has more than 35 years of experience in the Los Angeles gardening industry in sales, home gardening, plant breeding, landscape design, and garden writing. Jane is an award-winning landscape designer, writer, and speaker and the author of All the Garden’s a Stage: Choosing the Best Performing Plants for a Sustainable Garden.

  • growing aloe vera
    Southwest Regional Reports

    Growing Aloe Vera in Southern California

    Aloe vera (Aloe vera syn. Aloe barbadensis, Zones 10–11) is only one of many species in the Aloe genus. It is likely native to parts of North Africa where conditions…

  • companion planting california
    Southwest Regional Reports

    Companion Planting for Successful Southern California Vegetable Gardens

    For centuries, gardeners have been observing how various plants can be impacted by their vegetative neighbors. In the vegetable garden, our great-great-grandparents passed on their discoveries that tomatoes and basil…

  • victory garden
    Southwest Regional Reports

    How to Plant a Southern California Victory Garden

    With so many radical changes happening daily, we are all impacted right down to our homes, our gardens, and our everyday lives. So as we move into 2023, it’s a…

  • native plants for southern california
    Southwest Regional Reports

    5 Must-Have Native Plants for the Southern California Garden

    Even though we like to think much in our lives is predictable and at least somewhat under our control, everything is continually changing, and the garden is a perfect teacher…

  • autumn garden to-do list
    Southwest Regional Reports

    Autumn To-Do List for Southern California Gardeners

    Southern California seems to be one of those areas that’s feeling the impact of drought more critically than many other parts of the country. Yet as autumn begins, there is…

  • stone garden
    Southwest Regional Reports

    Create a Water-Wise Garden With Stone

    As water becomes a critical issue in Southern California, it has become imperative to seek a new definition of what gardening is about and what we want our landscapes to…

  • Vertical gardening
    Southwest Regional Reports

    Vertical Gardening in Southern California

    Vertical gardening continues to grow in popularity. Although the concept is not new, it is becoming more relevant than ever for Southern California landscapes. With increasingly hot, dry, and windy…

  • swallowtail butterfly on a pink flower
    Southwest Regional Reports

    Growing a Butterfly Garden in Southern California

    Most of Southern California is on the western monarch butterfly migration path and is home to a number of other fascinating butterflies that are ecologically significant pollinators. At a time…

  • tips for shopping at a garden center
    Southwest Regional Reports

    Tips for Shopping at a Southern California Garden Center

    Garden centers offer a wide range of lovely plants. Yet it’s important to consider not only the plants that we find eye-catching but also those that will thrive in our…

  • garden on and around a rain barrel
    Southwest Regional Reports

    How to Save Water in the Garden for Droughts to Come

    Water has become a critical consideration as our climate changes and reservoirs are drying. Some years may grace us with more rainfall than others, but the long-range view of the…