Jeanette Marantos started writing for the Los Angeles Times in 1999, doing Money Makeovers until 2002. She returned to write for The Times’ Homicide Report in 2015 and the Saturday garden section in 2016, a yin and yang that kept her perspective in balance. In early 2020, she moved full time into Features, with a focus on all things flora. In June of 2023 she also began writing the monthly L.A. Times Plants newsletter, which includes a calendar of upcoming plant-related events. She is a SoCal native who spent more than 20 years in Central Washington as a daily reporter, columnist, freelancer and mom before returning to the land of eucalyptus and sage. Her present goal is to transform her yard into an oasis of native plants, fruit trees and veggies. Please email calendar submissions or plant-related story ideas to [email protected] for consideration.
Latest From This Author
These exercise-based social clubs cater to every interest and skill level — from stairclimbing to slow walking — and almost all them are free.
Nov. 7, 2024
Many cutesy, ‘have-to-have’ garden gifts serve little real purpose. Here are gifts curated by real gardeners that plant lovers will truly appreciate.
Nov. 3, 2024
Seeds for wildflowers and sweet peas produce delicate bursts of spring color. Here’s how to plant them now in SoCal, plus November plant events.
Nov. 6, 2024
The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over the 101 Freeway will be completed in 2026. “Engineered” soil will cover the crossing, and native shrubs and wildflowers will be planted.
Oct. 29, 2024
L.A.’s P-22 is one of the most famous felines in the world. Should he get a star like Lassie, Big Bird and Batman?
Oct. 23, 2024
Within three hours of L.A., there are locales to satisfy every type of autumn yearning, whether it’s for the desert, beach or mountains.
Oct. 18, 2024
Angel Black always wanted a food garden, but she was never successful — until Farmscape helped convert the lawn in her family’s Culver City backyard into a mini-farm.
Oct. 15, 2024
A Porter Ranch family lost their huge terraced yard to the 2019 Saddleridge fire, but it gave them a blank slate to create a fire-resistant native habitat.
Oct. 8, 2024
You’d think L.A.’s ‘perfect’ street tree would be a California native. So why does the city plant so many trees from somewhere else? Plus a list of plant events.
Oct. 1, 2024
Many municipalities and utilities around L.A. offer free trees for residents to plant in their yards or they will add trees to parkways. Here’s a list.
Sept. 26, 2024