Author Archives: Denise

Horticulture’s Continuing PR Problems

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Denise

In a March 12, 2011 issue of The New York Times, in a column by Maureen Dowd entitled “In Search of Monsters,” Ms. Dowd comments on the suitability of Donald Rumsfeld giving current foreign policy advice: “You would think that … Continue reading →

Posted in journal | Tagged Donald Rumsfeld, Maureen Dowd, The New York Times | 5 Comments

The Kashmir Cypress

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Denise

A pre-dinner garden tour at Dustin’s. “What is it?” I asked. “You asked me that last time,” he answered patiently. “It’s psoralea.” “Oh, the Kool-Aid something or other?” (Strange, how memory works.) “Right,” he explained, “from Annie’s.” His psoralea is … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden visit, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged Annies Annuals, bocconia, Cedrus deodara 'Feelin' Blue', Cupressus cashmeriana, Dustin Gimbel, Echeveria agavoides, Huntington Botanical Garden, Kashmir cypress, Nancy Goslee Power, Orostachys iwarenge, Power of Gardens, Psoralea pinnata, San Marcos Growers | 7 Comments

Landscape Crit

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Denise

A new shopping center was planted with sharp plants four years ago. Agaves, yuccas. I was thrilled but also slightly alarmed.

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, succulents | Tagged Agave 'Blue Flame', Agave 'Blue Glow', Agave americana, Agave attenuata, Agave desmettiana, Agave parryi var. truncata, Agave weberi 'Arizona Star', California, Del Amo Mall, Salvia greggii, sansevieria, Senecio mandraliscae, The Malling of America by William Severini Kowinski, Torrance, Yucca aloifolia, Yucca rostrata | 8 Comments

Whoosh

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Denise

This spring I am not going to be drawn into running out into the garden with my camera every time I hear the whoosh of a rapid aerial descent then the whirring of tiny wings. I don’t have the stamina … Continue reading →

Posted in creatures | Tagged hummingbirds | 6 Comments

Roof Dogs

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Denise

To every urban challenge, there is a potentially joyful response. Image found here. Roof Dogs, a movie by MB Maher.

Posted in MB Maher | 2 Comments

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch- Cherry Bomb

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Denise

Anyone else curious enough about “The Runaways” movie last year, based on the eponymous, all-girl, Los Angeles-based band of the mid ’70s, to see it in a theater? Cherry Bomb was their big radio hit, Joan Jett the post-Runaways star. … Continue reading →

Posted in pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Lampranthus 'Cherry Bomb', Los Angeles, Penelope Spheeris, The Decline of Western Civilization, The Runaways | 5 Comments

Occasional Daily Photos

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Denise

On the trip to Lotusland last week, on arrival looking for a 7:30 a.m. cup of coffee, found next-door to The Sacred Space. Which is where I sipped my coffee and took these photos April 13, 2011. (My oldest brother … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden travel | Tagged Asian sculpture, Lotusland, Ramona pageant, Santa Barbara, The Sacred Space | 3 Comments

Lemon Arbor

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Denise

Arbors of roses, wisteria, grapes, long trusses of laburnum…timeless horticultural cliches under which one glides lost in the quandary of which Jane Austen heroine one resembles most. (Fanny Price of Mansfield Park.) Never had I walked under an arbor of … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden travel, garden visit | Tagged arbor, Fanny Price, Jane Austen, lemons, limoncello, Lotusland, Mansfield Park | 3 Comments

Photographer James Wojcik

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Denise

Possibly one of the most visually inventive editorial product photographers working today. Some garden themes. James Wojcik

Posted in design | Tagged James Wojcik, photography | 1 Comment

Bloom Day April 2011

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Denise

Southern California, a mile from the ocean, zone 10, spring a couple months ahead of most of the country. With the grasses joining the frothy euphorbias in bloom, there’s now a supercharged atmosphere that animates the garden. I love it … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloom Day, Plant Portraits | Tagged ' Amicia zygomeris, ' Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow', Aloe thompsonii, Annies Annuals, Bloom Day, Euphorbia characias 'Silver Swan', Fuchsia 'Hawkshead', Geranium maderense 'Alba', Geum magellanicum, Libertia peregrinans, Luzula sylvatica 'Aurea', May Dreams Gardens, Patersonia drummondii, Pennisetum spathiolatum, Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain' | 6 Comments