Garden

Often considered the most popular entertainer of the 20th century--his extravagant performances set still-unchallenged attendance records--Liberace (dubbed "Mr. Showman" in tribute to his flashy theatricality) sued a London columnist in 1956 for implying he was gay. He won.

We recently stayed at Dinah's Garden Hotel in Palo Alto. It's set in six beautifully landscaped acres, with a swimming pool, lake, ducks, blossoming cherry trees, Asian sculptures and large rooms with all the comforts you could want. Very reasonable rates and a helpful and gracious staff. Dinah's Garden Hotel, 4261 El Camino Real, Palo Alto; (650) 493-2844, http://www.dinahshotel.com . Lee Soskin Studio City

Your choices in San Francisco hotels are overwhelming. The prices can be too. So during our staff visit to the City by the Bay, we looked for reasonably priced hotels that had charm, location or both. We came back with 14 ideas on places to bed down. It's not a complete list, but it is eclectic, like the city itself. Mystic Hotel. This property, which opened in April, stands on a tunnel-adjacent block of Stockton Street that you'll never see on a picture postcard, yet it has style, as do the Burritt Tavern bar and restaurant downstairs.

Police shot a man in Garden Grove on Thursday night after he tried to run down officers with his vehicle, authorities said. Lt. Jeff Nightengale of the Garden Grove Police Department said the incident began about 8:15 p.m. when some undercover officers stationed near Beach and Garden Grove boulevards became worried about a driver who pulled up near them and was acting suspiciously. The undercover officers called for a marked police car to check out the situation because they feared the man driving the car would interfere with their surveillance, Nightengale said.

Actor Nick Nolte has put a Malibu compound up for sale that has seen a galaxy of stars come through its arched entryway. Besides Nolte, other notables to have owned the house include comedian Tommy Chong, Don Felder of the Eagles and music producer David Foster. Priced at $8.25 million and set in the Bonsall Canyon area, the two-acre retreat is covered with sycamore and pine trees. The main house, built in 1963, features 19-foot vaulted ceilings, skylights, six stone-and-carved-wood fireplaces, marble floors and mahogany French doors.

On busy Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, some well-kept facades conceal a secret. Behind the Mediterranean with wooden doors, the white stucco two-story with a red tile roof, the long wall obscuring a three-structure compound, hides a singular, massive wealth fueled by obsession. This is Larry Ellison territory, where a Bay Area billionaire with seemingly endless patience and resources is buying up the best spots along Malibu's 21 miles of coast. PHOTOS: Expensive things Ellison has bought The Oracle Corp.

With more than 4 million people visiting Yosemite National Park last year ? and that number expected to increase this year ? it's no wonder lodging inside the park is snatched up quickly. "We typically sell out during the summer season," Delaware North Cos. spokeswoman Lisa Cesaro said of its Yosemite accommodations (Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, Curry Village and the housekeeping camp on the Merced River; the Wawona Hotel, and in the back country, Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, White Wolf Lodge and the High Sierra camps)

I've been to Disneyland hundreds of times over the last two decades and have been writing the Funland theme park blog for about four years now. As a result, people are always asking me how to do everything at Disneyland in a single day. The short answer is you probably can't. It can be a struggle for even hard-core fans with military assault-like strategies. The longer answer is there's lots of ways to maximize your time in the park and get on the most rides possible. PHOTOS: How to do Disneyland in a day So in honor of Disneyland's 24-hour Leap Day celebration , here are my seven tips for tackling Disneyland in a day: Tip 1: If you're trying to get the most out of your day at Disneyland , I always recommend arriving just before the park opens in the morning, staying until the park closes at night and taking a long break in the heat of the afternoon at your hotel pool or cocktail bar. It may sound like a long day, but you'll get more done in the first two hours and the last two hours of your day than if you spent 15 hours straight at the park.

Beeswax is such stuff as artists' dreams are made on these days. The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. , will open a beeswax chamber on March 2, and now the Ganna Walska Lotusland garden in Santa Barbara opens an art exhibition Saturday that's all about bees and their hive culture. "Swarm: A Collaboration With Bees" features a dozen artists using sculpture, photography and drawings to pay homage to the pollinator whose numbers are dwindling worldwide. The exhibition remains until May 4 at the garden that was once the private home of singer Ganna Walska of Poland.

Architect Jeffrey Tohl's backyard has had several incarnations in the last 16 years: a grass yard in the shape of a Fender guitar, then a space dedicated to the kids complete with jungle gym, treehouse and a sandpit surrounded by a tricycle path. Now, the final metamorphosis — an outdoor living room and multilevel garden — may be laid at the feet of Maggie, the family's 4-year-old Airedale. "They're natural diggers," Tohl says. "Pretty soon after we got her, the lawn was full of holes and all the plantings were destroyed.

Not a rock goes unturned in Greg Rubin and Lucy Warren's new book, “The California Native Landscape: The Homeowner's Design Guide to Restoring Its Beauty and Balance” ($34.95, Timber Press ). The authors give us context for the renewed interest in native gardening, describing what our land looked like before Native Americans settled here. They take us through the changes that came with European farming practices and bring us to our present state of concrete, lawns and imported ornamentals.

Nine years after making his directorial debut in “Garden State,” actor Zach Braff is looking to direct a follow-up he's written, entitled “Wish I Was Here,” about a struggling actor's existential crisis. One would think, given "Garden State's" critical success and its $35.8-million worldwide box office take on an estimated budget of $2.5 million, Braff would have no trouble securing the financing and creative freedom he needs to make the film happen. Not so, says Braff.

Writer Jonathan Lethem took some time to join us in our secret video booth at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. He gave us a preview of his next novel, "Dissident Gardens," which will be coming to bookstores in September. "It's about American leftists," he explains in the video. "Specifically, a red-diaper baby generation trying to figure out what it all means, this legacy of American Communism. " "It's set in Queens and Greenwich Village, another New York neighborhood book, very much about the life of the city....

The gilt-trimmed high-rises of Waikiki offer a seductive escape from L.A. But those who rent a car - a convertible, please - - can find a simpler side of Oahu on the North Shore, an hour or so away, where locals and tourists carry surfboards instead of Louis Vuitton purses (real or fake) and debates about where to eat focus on which food trucks serve the best garlic shrimp. Residents call it "the country," and they want to keep it that way. Haleiwa is the only real town on the North Shore, and it's mainly a line of one-story beach shops, cafes, bars and shave-ice outlets along the highway.

The Bruins and the Red Sox, Boston-based professional sports teams with home games that had been scheduled for Friday, postponed competition as authorities searched for and apprehended a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings. Regional rail and bus systems were closed part of the day after Gov. Deval Patrick urged residents of Boston and nearby areas to avoid going out in public. Many fans use mass transit to attend hockey games at TD Garden and watch the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

The goal of this Zen-inspired Modernist house in the Hollywood Hills was to create a tranquil and healthful-living environment filled with natural light. Recycled, biodegradable and organic materials take center stage in the gated, energy-efficient home. Location: 3110 Deronda Drive, Los Angeles 90068 Asking price: $2.395 million Year built: 2004 Architect: James Chuda House size: Four bedrooms, four bathrooms, 4,200 square feet Lot size: 7,927 square feet Features: Entry water garden with waterfall; media room; den; two fireplaces; glass staircase; loft; patios; bamboo and papyrus walls; bamboo, cork and palm wood floors; solar power; water-saving toilets; vegetable gardens About the area: Last year, 321 single-family homes sold in the 90068 ZIP Code at a median price of $890,000, according to DataQuick.

Ever since "It's Complicated" landed in theaters, the online garden community has been buzzing about the vegetable beds tended by Jane (Meryl Streep). "The idea was it was meant to look like a real cook's garden," said Jon Hutman, the film's production designer, speaking by phone from a hotel room in Italy. "We try to make the movies look real, but a very delicious version of real." Hutman, who does not garden, relied on the talents of greensman Dan Ondrejko, whose credits include "Jurassic Park," "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" and "Land of the Lost."

OXO, the company best known for its clever kitchen gadgets, is rolling out a line of garden tools this winter. The bypass hand pruner pictured below ($24.99) comes with a cushioned, gel-pad grip and hardened steel blades finished with a nonstick coating. It can open wide enough to trim a 3/4 -inch-diameter branch or set on a "quick cut" setting that purposely limits the range of motion, reducing hand strain during light, repetitive clipping. When the time comes, replacement blades allow gardeners to refresh their pruner rather than toss the whole thing out. Equally practical: The hedge shears shown at left ($29.

Kathleen Brenzel, editor of Sunset's latest book, “The 20-Minute Gardener,” understands the time-strapped reader's dilemma. “You just want [your garden] to look its best, with a minimum of work on your part,” she writes in her introduction. She understands you're busy “juggling career, family and community obligations.” And so she promises a solution: “We show you how to keep your garden looking good in as little as 20 minutes a day.” Chockablock with ideas and projects, decorative tips and well-styled photographs, many culled from the pages of Sunset magazine, the book ($24.95)

The British Museum in London has unveiled a major exhibition, "Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum," focusing on the Roman home and the people who lived in these two fated cities destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79. The museum brings together more than 250 objects, both recent discoveries and finds from earlier excavations. Many have never been seen outside Italy.  For ancient history lovers, the Montague on the Gardens , around the corner from the museum, is offering a "Pompeii and Herculaneum" package that includes a two-night stay, breakfast for two both mornings and a pair of tickets to the exhibition (about $22 each)