Author Archives: Denise

Sunshine Conebush

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Denise

A U-turn-worthy sight driving in the rain to a job in El Segundo (Southern California zone 10). I’m guessing this is Leucadendron coniferum, the Sunshine Conebush, from the Proteaceae family. Someone clever had it backed by a deep russet-colored stucco … Continue reading →

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Call Me Mr. Agave

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Denise

(Also answers to “Big Blue”) Note the congestion of pups destroying his fine lines. The vigor of an Agave americana is an awesome thing to behold and has been known to rupture any pot that dares contain it. Said vigor … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, essay | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Dragging Gen X & Y Into the Garden

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Denise

Interview on Nest in Style with Duane Kelly, recent buyer of the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, wherein he gives a detailed answer providing possible theories as to why Gen X & Y don’t seem so hot to take on … Continue reading →

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Poor Man’s Jewels

Posted on January 30, 2010 by Denise

Aeoniums and Helichrysum petiolare, very common in these parts. Matte and fuzzy riffing off each other, spangled in morning dew. I’ve always felt plants more than hold their own in the world of precious objects. Lucky for my family, there’s … Continue reading →

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The Trouble With Etsy

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Denise

Yesterday morning, in the shower, I wondered if men were writing the code and starting up sites like Etsy, and if women were thereafter predominantly the ones selling their wares in this virtual bazaar. There’s no point to a lengthier … Continue reading →

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Winter Storms

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Denise

The long-awaited winter storms did arrive with a vengeance, drumming rain deep into the soil. Don’t you want a subterranean view of a cross section of the earth moistening sequentially into ever richer chocolate layers as the rain percolates down … Continue reading →

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Cat on Pedestal

Posted on January 18, 2010 by Denise

The pedestal being a stack of concrete that occasionally holds a pot or, as in this case, a cat named Newt, or is just left empty, a plinth crowded on four sides by the horticultural Darwinian struggle that is the … Continue reading →

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Pelargonium echinatum

Posted on January 17, 2010 by Denise

From Robin Parer’s Geraniaceae site comes possible confirmation as to the identity of my 3-year-old, winter-flowering, summer-dormant pelargonium, P. echinatum, whose winter performance in a 6-inch pot thrills me no end. Just as cold-climate gardeners haul their tender beauties out … Continue reading →

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Foliage Followup (and other digressions)

Posted on January 16, 2010 by Denise

The answer to Bloom Day, the 15th of every month, is the Foliage Follow-up, the brainchild of Pam Pennick of the excellent blog Digging, whose garden has endured both record high temps in summer and now record low temps this … Continue reading →

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The Best Zwartzkop in the Neighborhood

Posted on January 15, 2010 by Denise

lives at David and Crissy’s house a few doors down the street and is obligingly in bloom this 15th of January in honor of Bloom Day : Nomenclature issues for Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ are discussed by San Marcos Growers . The … Continue reading →

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