Author Archives: Denise

the spell of the present

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Denise

Though we may occasionally argue about what a garden is, I think we can all agree that what a garden does is cast a “spell of the present.” I loved this eminently quotable piece from Diane Ackerman a couple days … Continue reading →

Posted in books, creatures, Occasional Daily Photo, succulents | Tagged A Natural History of the Senses, Brachysema praemorsum, Diane Ackerman, Sedum confusum, Sedum nussbaumerianum, The New York Times | 3 Comments

CSSA Plant Sale at the Huntington Botanical Gardens

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Denise

The Cactus & Succulent Society of America’s plant sale at the Huntington June 29 through July 1, 2012, is one I hope not to miss this year. I’ve moved my little Agave parrasana ‘Fireball’ from last year’s plant sales into … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden visit | Tagged Agave parrasana 'Fireball', Cactus & Succulent Society of America, CSSA, Huntington Botanical Gardens, plant sales | 6 Comments

the learning garden at Venice High School

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Denise

I’m late posting about the Learning Garden, a garden stop on the May 2012 Venice Garden & Home Tour, and today the LG offers a class open to the public on vermiculture/composting, a deadline I had been hoping to beat. … Continue reading →

Posted in edibles, garden visit, MB Maher, science, shop talk | Tagged botany, California, David King, horticulture, Julie Mann, seed bank, The Learning Garden at Venice High School, Venice, Yo San University and Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine. | 7 Comments

glads

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Denise

Gladioli love Southern California. My grandmother always grew lots of them to cut and take to church, which is possibly why most gladiolus hybrids will always have an air of the sanctimonious for me. I am the furthest thing from … Continue reading →

Posted in Bulbs | Tagged Annie's Annuals & Perennials, gladilous, Gladiolus byzantinus, Gladiolus papilio, Old House Gardens | 7 Comments

Occasional Daily Photo 6/5/12

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Denise

The spent, dried, bleached-out bloom of Allium schubertii embellishing a mossed basket of succulents and bromeliads.* Might be a ho-hum occurrence for many gardeners, but I never thought I’d see the day I’d get this allium to bloom, much less … Continue reading →

Posted in Bulbs, Occasional Daily Photo, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Allium schubertii, Thunbergia alata | 5 Comments

summer notes

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Denise

Though I’ve been practicing lots of garden math — some addition but mostly subtraction and a little light division — the garden still seems almost unchanged and very familiar this summer, and I haven’t decided yet if that’s necessarily a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bulbs, garden visit, journal, Plant Portraits, shop talk, succulents | Tagged ' Plant Delights Nursery, 2012, Anemanthele lessoniana, Atriplex hortensis, Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition', Christopher Lloyd, Colocasia 'Diamond Head', Colocasia esculenta 'Mojito', Euphorbia characias 'Silver Swan', Giovanni Battista Amici, Leycesteria formosa 'Golden Lanterns', Lilium 'Lankon', Oenothera macrocarpa ssp. incana, San Diego Cactus & Succulent Society, SDCSS plant sale June 2 & 3, Stipa arundinacea, Teucrium hircanicum 'Paradise Delight', Tibouchina granulosa 'Gibraltar', Tweedia caerulea, Xanthosoma 'Lime Zinger' | 10 Comments

“Natural Discourse” July 2012

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Denise

On July 13, 2012, Natural Discourse, the “collaborative project between the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley (UCBG) and a multidisciplinary group of artists,” will introduce the artists’ installations to the public. MB Maher has been up to some … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, garden travel, garden visit, MB Maher | Tagged "Natural Discourse", light painting, Mary Anne Friel, Paolo Roversi, photography, Shirley Watts, UCBG, University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley | 3 Comments

summer camp for locavores

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Denise

From the Wikipedia entry: “A locavore is a person interested in eating food that is locally produced, not moved long distances to market.” I’ve been hinting without going into too many gory details that my new little community vegetable garden … Continue reading →

Posted in creatures, edibles, garden travel, garden visit, MB Maher | Tagged boutique hotels, chickens, goats, Mar Vista Cottages and Edible Gardens, MB Maher, Mendocino, Northern California, vegetable gardens | 9 Comments

Teucrium hircanicum ‘Paradise Delight’

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Denise

Summer-blooming spiky flowering plants under 3 feet. In garden design parlance, the verticals. We all need some, right? Herbaceous varieties of salvias and veronicas include lots of contenders. Although I’ve had some success with veronica, herbaceous salvias often melt away … Continue reading →

Posted in design, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits | Tagged Digging Dog Nursery, Teucrium hircanicum 'Paradise Delight' | 6 Comments

raise the red lantern

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Denise

More photos from MB Maher as he meanders north of San Francisco, these from Cornerstone Gardens in Sonoma, California, a collection of outdoor gardens inspired by the International Garden Festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire, curated by owner Teresa Raffo. I haven’t been … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden travel, garden visit, MB Maher | Tagged "Red Lantern", "White Clouds", Andy Cao, Cao Perrot Studio, Cornerstone Gardens Sonoma, landscape architecture, MB Maher, Press Democrat, Raise the Red Lantern, San Francisco Chronicle, Teresa Raffo, writer Lauren Reed-Guy, writer Meg McConahey, Xavier Perrot, Zhang Yimou | 4 Comments