Author Archives: Denise

Drought Buster

Posted on March 6, 2010 by Denise

Tibouchina heteromalla holding on to a raindrop. Photo by MB Maher. I understand the impulse. We’ve been promised a solid day of rain, but so far it’s only been a fitful one. Possibly more tonight. Euphorbia cotinifolia, Caribbean Copper Plant, … Continue reading →

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Three-Quarters Full

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Denise

Day job intrudes on blogging, which is good (half full) in the sense the economy must be picking up if I’m busier, but which is also not so good (half empty) since I can’t grab a few minutes to blog … Continue reading →

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The Stuff of Nightmares

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Denise

The mood: Moving through the garden in that dreamy, rapturous state that a gardener effortlessly attains when perusing spring growth early in the morning, usually trailing the hem of a robe on clammy bricks while drinking a steaming cup of … Continue reading →

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Miracle on 28th Street

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Denise

A minor miracle, just an urban meadow. This is a large medical complex that has been undergoing lots of construction and expansion of new hospital wings. The meadow, although just adjacent to the entrance, is slightly below grade and ringed … Continue reading →

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March of the Tulips

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Denise

They are a bit regimental in appearance, aren’t they? I’m not sure I’d want to accentuate that trait by lining them out with geometric precision in bedding-out schemes. I prefer to see these little soldiers cavorting with fennel and linaria … Continue reading →

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Poppies in February

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Denise

Of the many things I don’t do that cause me a small pang from time to time, like speak a language other than English, keeping a book of poetry on my reading table ranks probably in the mid to low … Continue reading →

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Erodium pelargoniflorum

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Denise

This little self-sowing erodium owns the front gravel garden in spring. Just yesterday I pulled handfuls of it up to give some nerines a bit of breathing room. Weedy, yes, but cheerful and controllable. A quick Internet search tells me … Continue reading →

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Tulips’ Progress

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Denise

Look at that stem length! This is the best length I’ve achieved yet from the regimen of prechilling six weeks in fall, then potting them up the day after Thanksgiving. The fishhook senecio experiment has been dismantled, and the black … Continue reading →

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A Grate Idea

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Denise

Up early, prowling around with the camera, Mr. Agave has an eerie glow in his new, most likely temporary quarters:

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Old Garden Notebooks

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Denise

Anybody else keep theirs? Found this entry from April 1985, when all things horticultural were then confined to a small plot in a community garden a couple miles from our apartment: “Gophers running amok, seemingly in my garden alone. Can … Continue reading →

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