Author Archives: Denise

Timing is Everything

Posted on January 11, 2010 by Denise

in garden design. Really enjoyed the cyber garden summit on regionalism held last week, and found myself nodding along with comments by West Coast writers, such as the Germinatrix and Garden Porn, about being led down the primrose path by … Continue reading →

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All My Agaves

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Denise

My love affair with agaves runs deep and goes back decades. Now their sculpted beauty and Fibonacci flare are gaining widespread appreciation, surpassing their heretofore cult status, with gorgeous new hybrids popping up as prolifically as feather grass in gravel. … Continue reading →

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Grace Under Pressure

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Denise

This is about as basic as it gets, squirting water out of a garden hose. Very inefficient and ineffective, yet I grab a hose practically every day, however briefly, to at least water the pots and new plantings. And as … Continue reading →

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Alien Gomphrena

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Denise

This horticultural enigma, resembling in this photo by MB Maher a wayward swarm of magenta bees, may be a native Texan gomphrena. Brought home to my zone 10 garden from a local nursery tagged as a species gomphrena, I first … Continue reading →

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Horticultural Mash Notes from the Middle of the World

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Denise

Zone 10, 32 degrees latitude, to be exact. Have been reading this fall many blogs of brave gardeners in cold climes putting a cheerful face on the impending winter, asserting that gardens and gardeners need a rest anyway. This may … Continue reading →

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Moreton Bay Fig

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Denise

Original banner to the blog, Ficus macrophylla, a tree with gravitas to spare, planted in the 1880s at Rancho Los Alamitos, Long Beach, California. Oh, to have the land to accommodate such a giant! (Oh, to have a rancho…and a … Continue reading →

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