Author Archives: Denise

fine weather for garden tours

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Denise

The overcast skies burned off late morning but temperatures stayed moderate with light breezes. Nice garden touring weather. More will be forthcoming from the Venice Garden & Home Tour later this week, but Sunday’s tour deserves a quick post because … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden ornament, garden visit, MB Maher, plant nurseries, pots and containers | Tagged Dustin Gimbel, garden tours, Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour, plant nurseries, Venice Garden and Home Tour | 5 Comments

friday’s clippings 5/4/12

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Denise

Spring is such a great whoosh of a season, isn’t it? A spring weekend really needs to be four days to accommodate all the incredible stuff there is to do. Let’s get those bright minds in Congress on that right … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings, design, garden visit, MB Maher | Tagged Anais Nin, Jane Jacobs, Janes' Walk, Los Angeles, Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour, Richard Neutra, spring garden tours, Venice Home and Garden Tour 2012 | 1 Comment

Brassica juncae ‘Scarlet Frills Mustard’

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Denise

This mustard is the only edible I brought home from the recent plant sale at the Huntington Botanical Gardens. I have a satellite 10X20 foot vegetable garden this year at a local community garden that’s already full to capacity with … Continue reading →

Posted in edibles | Tagged Brassica juncae 'Scarlet Frills Mustard', cool season crops, Mark Bittman, Pasta with Anchovies and Arugula | 1 Comment

succulents in spring

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Denise

Prowling around the garden yesterday with this or that new plant in one hand, spade in the other, looking for planting opportunities where I already knew none existed, it seemed more constructive to put the spade down and pick up … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Aeonium 'Cyclops', Aeonium balsamiferum, Agave americana var. striata, Agave victoriae-reginae, Cotyledon orbiculata, Haloragis erecta, Manihot grahamii, Sedum confusum | 8 Comments

Huntington plant sale swag

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Denise

Sunday’s plant sale at the Huntington was the best I’ve attended in many years. The succulents and cactus sale tables are always reason enough to attend, but the herbaceous stuff has been unexciting in recent years bordering on the moribund. … Continue reading →

Posted in plant nurseries, Plant Portraits | Tagged Huntington Botanical Garden Plant Sale, Rumex flexuosus, Salvia vira vira | 3 Comments

freeway wildflowers

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Denise

Two Sundays ago, on Earth Day, in fact, I bounded out of bed early to head for a strip of wildflowers I’d been watching gain momentum for weeks and which looked to be approaching peak bloom. Instead of driving miles … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged aloes, California native plants, Centuarea cyanus, Cistus purpureus, Escholtzia californica, Kalanchoe beharensis, kniphofias, Layia platyglossa, Mediterranean climates, Mimulus aurantiacus, Pennisetum alopecuroides, Pennisetum messiacum, Phacelia crennulata, Red Bunny Tails Fountain Grass, scorpionweed, Verbena lilacina | 5 Comments

Saturday’s Clippings 4/28/12

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Denise

I enjoyed this article very much earlier in the week, well worth a Sunday read: “Any patch of earth, large or small, turns out to be a mad surprise party of species — fluid, unpredictable and wild — and a … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bulbs, clippings, design, garden ornament, garden visit, plant nurseries, pots and containers, science | Tagged "Counting Species on a Little Patch of Earth", Agave 'Felipe Otero', Agave attenuata 'Kara's Stripes', Agave attenuata 'Raea's Gold', Agave Coast Landscapes, arctotis, B&D Lilies, Carol Kaesuk Yoon, Catalina Ironwood, Desert to Jungle, Dustin Gimbel, Fermob garden chairs, Gary Hammer, Huntington Botanical Garden plant sale April 2012, Laura Dalton, Lily 'Lankon', Lyonothamnus floribundus, Potted gifts for the garden, San Marcos Growers, Sarah Robinson/Sarah's Gardens, Second Nature Garden Design, South Coast Plaza Spring Garden Show, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times | 2 Comments

selections from Mar Vista’s Green Garden Showcase

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Denise

A quick look back at one of the gardens on the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase last Saturday, which was a huge tour, with over 80 houses participating. Careful logistical preparation is required, researching and winnowing through descriptions online, mapping … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden ornament, garden visit, MB Maher | Tagged Acacia podalyriifolia, Annie's Annuals & Perennials, Daniel Rhodes, Hidcote, Italian gardens, Katherine Spitz, Los Angeles Times, Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase, Pittosporum tobira 'Wheeler's Dwarf' | 2 Comments

Carex pansa

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Denise

“Somewhere out there in nature, he reasoned, there had to be a grass…that would be naturally low-growing, drought-tolerant, evergreen, and trampleable: a natural lawn grass.” – The New Yorker, August 19, 1996, “The Grassman.” Carex pansa, the California meadow sedge, … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden visit, science, shop talk | Tagged California meadow sedge, Carex pansa, John Greenlee, lawn substitutes, Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase, The New Yorker 8/19/96 "The Grassman", Wade Graham | 5 Comments

the clematis club

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Denise

I’m referring to a club in the informal sense, with really only one criterion for membership. And that is to push on past the inevitable early disappointments associated with growing clematis until one is found that will bloom in your … Continue reading →

Posted in plant nurseries, Plant Portraits | Tagged Chalk Hill Clematis, Clematis 'Betty Corning', Clematis viticella, Joy Creek Nursery | 11 Comments