Author Archives: Denise

Salvage

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Denise

“Captain, your ship is salvage!” Possibly the most chilling words any ship’s captain will ever hear. Maritime law dating back to Byzantine times allows a ship and its cargo to be claimed by anyone, acting voluntarily (not in an official … Continue reading →

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The Cat and the Fringe Tree

Posted on April 3, 2010 by Denise

Joseph the cat in his current favorite spot, the grasslands, his personal Serengeti just outside the kitchen door. Comfort creature that he is, he prefers his grasslands have nice dry pavers to sit or lie on, or on which to … Continue reading →

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Unidentified Giant Composite

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Denise

If you saw 8-foot tall daisies planted to the very edges of the geometric template that usually holds a suburban front yard lawn, in an upscale community in San Francisco, wouldn’t you assume the owners of the house were a … Continue reading →

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Calandrinia spectabilis

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Denise

On the Agave Walk this cerise Chilean showoff opens its first flower of spring. Zone 8-10. The calandrinia sprawls onto the Agave Walk and is cut back by half to allow foot traffic. Even with this heavy-handed treatment it flowers … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Western Hills

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Denise

The story of Western Hills can’t be fully told by an outsider, of course, so this will in no way be an attempt at a complete history. The former nursery and now endangered 3-acre garden have woven through Northern Californian … Continue reading →

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Nameless

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Denise

Among the minor reasons I took up blogging was to simply make an effort to retain plant names again. I’ve got shelves of old garden notebooks, in which I kept copious notes of plants desired, plants purchased, when they were … Continue reading →

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Garden Show Road Trip

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Denise

Can there exist a more potent rite of spring than the garden show road trip? Can’t think of any offhand. This week’s road trip was up to the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, continuing through this weekend. Driving up … Continue reading →

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Poppies of Spring

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Denise

Visual kief, intoxicating to the eye, O’Keefian, the ephemeral poppies of spring. These are not the flamboyant Oriental poppies immortalized by the painter Georgia O’Keefe. The Orientals won’t grow in Southern California, requiring more winter chill hours than we have … Continue reading →

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All In A Day’s Work

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Denise

The desultory, unfocused morning stretched into the same kind of afternoon, and I gave up the pretense of attempting to accomplish anything and headed for a bath. With an unread December Gardens Illustrated issue propped on the reading stand (often … Continue reading →

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From Ants to Squills

Posted on March 20, 2010 by Denise

This fantastic architecture must have an equally fantastic pollinator, yes? The Giant Fork-Tongued Moth maybe? Well, let’s leave out mythical insects. What’s left would be the usual garden-variety pollinators, and possibly just ants. Just ants? Don’t let E. O. Wilson … Continue reading →

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