Garden siteseeing in California

As part of our weekly visits to gardeners around the Web, we're headed to California this week.

First stop, San Francisco and Philip's Garden Blog, which is elegant and interesting. It's a treat to tag along with Philip Bewley as he visits wonderful gardens -- in nearby Sausalito one time, in Mexico or Rome another.

I've enjoyed -- and learned from -- his series of postings on garden retreats. And the discussion of San Francisco's gardens is better than many guidebooks I've seen. All are accompanied by copious photos of outstanding quality.

Debra Prinzing, author of "Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways" (among other books), is recently transplanted from Seattle to southern California.

At Shed Style, she writes about her interests -- architecture (including landscape architecture, of course), garden travels (she's an excellent interviewer, so you learn about the creator of the garden as well as the plants), and such things as circles in gardens., which was fascinating.

Shirley Bovshow is a Los Angeles landscape designer who co-hosts the Garden Police TV show on Discovery Home Channel. At EdenMakers' Blog, she talks about outdoor living, nature-inspired travel, and family, as well as plants and gardens.

She gives you a front-row seat for many of her design projects. A literacy garden for her son's school is particularly appealing, but the residential projects will interest anyone who's ever thought about hiring a landscape professional.

Back up north: In Oakland, right across the bay from San Francisco, Cindy Iverson -- a photographer and artist -- lives and gardens at Rosehaven Cottage.

You never know what sort of topic she might be writing about on any given day -- a territorial dragonfly, Lucy Maud – a kitten who's trying to learn to be a grown-up cat – and lots of garden topics, from hollyhocks and roses to a golden shrimp plant.

I find that I'm humming "California Dreaming" now. (Surely my subconscious could have come up with something a bit less cliched!) The Golden State would be a wonderful place to garden, but I think I'll be content with just occasional visits.

Join Diggin' It next Thursday for more Web garden visits around the world.