Last week there were 68 total quakes over 4.0 for the week. This is an app from USGS that I have on my iGoogle page that I see every day. It shows quakes for the last week over 4.0 all over the world and is interactive. Note the dates and numbers at the top of the pictures. This is the USGS site, click on the tabs for this quake and the links in the left column for general info. Of special interest, to me anyway, is the significant quake link. It has large quakes over the last ten years and they have been increasing in number. USGS Tsunami link. link Another tsunami link shows times by picture. This is an interesting page, check the dates and the causalities. link One of the reactors has exploded. Story and explanation in link. link

"Roughly speaking, how much of the flora is unable to grow on the West Coast?" Seems like it's usually more like what won't grow here? (Often with bad consequences, in the case of invasives.) For instance, my mother is endlessly frustrated by my interest in native plants (she is in New Mexico), as she says "You can grow ANYTHING there and you plant plain old Apricot Mallow???!" lol. Of course, I still have a lemon tree, orange tree, palm tree, tea tree, orchid tree, hibiscus, hydrangea, avocado etc....Full disclosure: I am a newbie and just got some actual dirt a year ago - but it has been amazing to learn about this amazing climate - which is Mediterranean btw. Often I wish there was a California version of every forum here - particularly veggies, since our planting times are totally different. Some books I like: Mediterranean Kitchen Garden: Growing Organic Fruit and Vegetables in a Hot, Dry Climate by Mariano Bueno, Pat Welsh's Southern California Gardening, and California Native Plants for the Garden by Carol Bornstein et al. The Sunset Bible is also on my shelf. The micro-climate is crucial - I am in East LA and have a totally different zone than you will in Santa Monica. One thing that I'll add to look into for native plants is the Theodore Payne Foundation which is local - it's really a neat non-profit nursery and educational resource.

That's very beautiful, I like it that you show both the close up and the bush. That's very helpful. I really like blends too. You should be putting these in HMF too and mention where you're growing the rose at, your area or zone and the sizes they get:) Because your photos are ALL excellent! Just a thought, when I was searching for roses I was also looking for what the bush looked like. Leslie

I concur with others who have noted that growing anything in pots on a rooftop in Los Angeles can be challenging. The relentless intensity of the sunshine is not something East Coasters are used to. Hollywood is a pretty warm area, too - not quite as hot as the Valley, but it is pretty far from the sea breezes and marine layer, and it is at the base of hills that trap a considerable amount of heat. Sunset Zone 24. And roofs can be the hottest and brightest spots of all. If she's in an apartment building with a flat roof, I'd check to make sure she's even allowed to have plant pots up there. I would hesitate to recommend she try to grow anything but succulents and cacti, if even those would survive. I lived in Hollywood for some years, and didn't have anywhere to garden but a bit of courtyard, so I had potted ponytail palms and Euphorbia trigona and things like that. A good garden center closest to her would probably be Anawalt Lumber, which is a very good local home improvement store with a good nursery section. They're usually pretty solid on advice. http://www.anawaltlumber.com/ I also used to be quite fond of Sunset Garden Center, in Silverlake. http://www.sunsetblvdnursery.com/about.html For cacti and succulents, she can drive out to a great specialty nursery, California Cactus Center in Pasadena. http://www.cactuscenter.com/ Rolling Greens in Culver City is a very nice spot for large containers at the high end of the market, but they are expensive and somewhat chi-chi - may not be what you're looking for. There is also a good cluster of Japanese-owned garden centers over on Sawtelle Blvd. in the West LA "Japantown" neighborhood. Good for big clay pots. I used to be able to find good big pots/containers at the Armstrong Garden Center on Wilshire in Santa Monica. Now I'm getting all sentimental about my former home...sniffle!