By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Panayoti Kelaidis, the senior curator of the Denver Botanic Gardens, approached the Broomfield, Colorado seed company, Botanical Interests, about offering a new line of seeds to preserve native and threatened species some time ago. 

The partners in this project took their time before introducing this line to make sure the offering was a group of plants that homeowners would have success with -- drought-tolerant, easy to care for, and beautiful.  The series is now here, and it was worth waiting for.

Below are three species from the series.  As usual, Carolyn Crawford's gorgeous botanical artwork makes you want them all.  There are a dozen more species in this welcome new line.  Check them out here.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

I loved Jim's recent post about Kevin and Marty Hauser's quest for better apples for mild climates, which lead to their backyard business, Kuffel Creek Apple Nursery.  It is thrilling to know I may have more choices in my mild beach climate than `Anna' -- a reliable but pretty dull apple, I've always thought.  Below are the three from Kuffel Creek I find most intriguing -- that's `Enterprise' on the left; `Williams Pride' in the middle; and `Terry Winter' on the right. 

Anyone tried any of these yet in Sunset zone 24?

Surfing garden blogs, I see that many home gardeners are stretching the boundaries re apple varieties.  Tom at Tall Clover Farm on Vashon Island in Washington, for instance, is growing `Espopus Spitzenberg', said to be Thomas Jefferson's favorite apple, and `Belle de Boshoop', which, as he says, is almost worth growing for the name alone.

And, if I'm not mistaken, the apples his bulldogs Boz and Gracie are eyeing in the photo below are `Bradley's Seedling.'   Read Tom's post to see what he has to say about how all these varieties and more are doing in his climate.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Most seed catalogs begin shipping garlic orders in September.  But if you are particular about your selection, it's best to order earlier.  Seeds of Change, which carries 21 different varieties, is taking orders now.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Cambria Nursey tweeted that I fell in love with 'Little Penny' coreoposis when I paid them a visit recently.  And it's is quite true.  And no wonder.  The plant was completely covered with small charming copper flowers that just happen to work perfectly with the color scheme I'm playing with in my backyard at the moment -- red-oranges, yellows, blue-violets.  And `Little Penny' was as nice a compansion to my 'Paprka' yarrow, coral fountain plant, and red yucca as I'd hoped it would be.

'Little Penny' is a 2009 introduction from Terra Nova.  You can read more about it on their website.

`Mango Punch', also from Terra Nova, is technically a 2010 introduction, but there's some stock in the nurseies now.  Cambria Nursery had both coreopsis.  Here's a better look.  That's 'Little Penny' on the left; `Mango Punch' on the right.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Today I'm recognizing all the good stuff other bloggers got to before I did.  Even stuff I knew about but just didn't have time to research and post.  Darn deadlines!  So here are the links.

The EarthTainer -- a device that's half pot/half hydroponic growing system that is supposed to be the best way yet to grow tomatoes.  Devised by a Silicon Valley home gardener.  Found on Cindy McNatt's blog Dirt Dujour

Woolly Pockets -- felt planters made out of recycled plastic.  Noticed their ad in a magazine on the airline on the way home from Sunset Celebration.  (Trust me, their ads are hard to miss, as you will soon see.)  Thought the product was as intriguing as the company's ad campaign, but once again Dirt Dujour beat me to the punch.

The Grass Roots Program -- a coalition of Los Angeles-based iirrigation and horticultural professionals and Green Movement citizens who recognize some people still want lawns and are promoting the use of less thirsty varieties such as UC Verde buffalo grass as well as better methods of irrigation.  I knew about the program, but Shirley Bovshow at Eden Makers Blog posted it first.

How to Grow an Olive Tree in a Container -- I told several visitor to the Sunset Celebration booth not to waste their time trying to grow an olive tree in a pot, but Fern at Life on the Balcony says it can be done with certain varieties, and she sounds pretty convincing. I stand corrected.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

I've been trying to sort out the differences between oregano and marjoram because I want to add one or both to my garden, and it's making my head hurt.  Both plants are in the same genus, Origanum, that much I know, but after that everything gets fuzzy.  

For instance, what we commonly think of as marjoram is O. majorana, but there are many other species that are called marjorams, too.  O. syriacum is known as Syrian marjoram, for instance, and O. onites as Cretan marjoram.  But they're also called Syrian oregano and Cretan oregano just as often.

And what we classify as basic oregano botanically, O. vulgare, is commonly called wild marjoram.  And what we're probably used to tasting if we buy oregano from the supermarket is a cross between O. vulgare and O. majorana and is described as Italian oregano or hardy marjoram. (It's 'Italian oregano' that is shown here.)  See what I mean? What confusion!

That's why I was very happy to come across Richard Frost's summary of the whole problem in a recent article in Talking Plants, the monthly publication of the San Diego Horticulture Society.  Frost sensibly skips the whole botanical issue and cuts to what is most important--how the different varieties taste.  It's such a nice succinct summary I'm going to reprint it in total here with his permission:

"When it comes to oreganos, there are opinions as strong as the herb can be in taste.  The standard kind that you find generically labeled in U.S. supermarkets is 'Italian.'  On the milder, sweeter side is 'Sweet Oregano', which many people know by the name "marjoram."  The white oregano cultivar 'Kaliteri' is even milder but with a traditional oregano taste.

For regular oregano with a peppery taste, try 'Greek' (a small bite will be sufficient for most people).  The Middle-Eastern variety 'Za-atar' is the main ingredient of a sauce of the same name and has pleasant cumin-like overtones.  The most pungent oregano I have ever tried is 'Syrian', which will stand out in almost any dish."

***

That cleared it up for me. Seems like you ought to have a mild one and a spicy one and I love anything that hints at cumin.  So I'm ordering 'Kaliteri' and 'Za-atar'.  What would you order?

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For more examples of Frost's clear thinking, see the website, www.PlantsThatProduce.

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If you live in Southern California, here are two great places to taste oregano and lots of other herbs:

Herb weekend at Fullerton Arboretum this weekend, May 30-31, 10 am.-4pm.

Pearson's Garden & Herb Farm in Vista, California -- any time

How to grow oregano

How to grow marjoram

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Essence of the Tree, specialists in Japanese maples, were vendors at the Spring Garden Show at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California again this year.  They always bring in gorgeous plants and seem to put them in just the right containers, making them even more irresistible.

This year some  of their new containers almost stole the show.  The redwood modular boxes, designed to hold small trees, are so beautifully crafted they almost looked more like furniture than containers.  The boxes are made of clear heart redwood rescued from old buildings in San Francisco dating back to the 1880s.  The mortise and tenon construction that makes them look so refined also has a practical purpose.  Since no nails or screws are used in their assembly, the boxes come apart easily should you need to root prune a tree, change out soil, or pick up and move.  Very clever.  Very elegant.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

When Los Angeles gardener Conor Fitzpatrick couldn't find a a kit for a raised bed handsome enough he'd want to install it in his own garden, he figured there must be a lot of other people looking for the same thing and not finding it.  And, just like that, a new business was born. 

Fitzpatric designed the kind of raised bed kit he was looking for, gave the product the name the Minifarm Box, and introduced it at the recent Garden Show at the Los Angeles County Arboretum.

The boxes are made of sustainably farmed redwood or cedar weather-sealed with flax oil and already installed with a heavy-duty gopher and weed screen. They come in three sizes -- 2' x 4', 4' x 4', an 4' 8'.  And, if you want more depth for any of these sizes, there's the option of adding more boards.

The boxes' notch and pin construction contributes to their good looks and also has the advantage of making them easy to take apart if necessary.

If you live in the Los Angeles area, you also have the option of having your boxes filled with organic potting soil and a drip irrigation system installed when delivered.

For more details, see www.minifarmbox.com.

If you are a DIY kind of person, on the other hand, here's our instructions on how to build your own raised bed.

More: See what you can grow in 4 square feet

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

One thing we've always loved about Judy Kameon's gardens is that they're always very finished.  Her firm Elysian Landscapes takes the outdoor room concept very seriously, and Kameon doesn't consider the job finished when she's installed the hardscape and the plants.  She cares about lighting, furniture, containers, even accessories.  They set the mood and create the magic, she believes. This interest led Kameon to start a separate outdoor furniture company, Plain Air, with her husband Erik Otsea, because she was having trouble finding simple, comfortable modern furniture for her clients. 

Until recently this furniture was only available to her clients and the trade.  However, when a 10 ton dump truck crashed into her offices, Kameon decided to look on it as an opportunity to rethink strategy. And she's decided to open a showroom to exhibit her custom built-ins, outdoor furniture, and garden accessories.

Starting this week, the Plain Air showroom, which is located at 2340 West Third Street in Los Angeles, California, will be open every Friday from 10 am to 5 pm.  The showroom is also open by appointment.  (213) 380-3185.

More on Sunset.com: Get a designer's secrets to creating a comfy outdoor room