Kara Bartelt

As green leaves turn brown and the sky more gray than blue, it's a good time to think of saving a little summer green for the indoors via terrariums. These mini world capsules provide visual warmth and literal humidity inside when things are chilly outside. They also make good holiday gifts, but given that they are better when the plants are given a little time to establish themselves in their new home, now’s the time to start planning if you’d like to make some DIY terrarium gifts this year. Terrariums run the gamut from artistic (like the Paula Hayes one above) to straightforward; from high maintenance to no maintenance, so enjoy the choices ahead.

Downtown Los Angeles just got a lot greener, and is the perfect example of why I’ll take a sea of green over the ocean blue any day. Still under construction, the new Grand Park runs east to west from Grand Street to Hill Street and the City Hall downtown. Designed by Rios Clementi Hale Studios, a portion of the park opened in July and the remaining segments extending to City Hall, later this summer.