Author Archives: Denise

new garden update

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Denise

about the soil: “The Tillamook Series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils formed in mixed alluvium on stream terraces. Slopes are 0 to 15 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 90 inches and the mean annual temperature … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, garden travel, garden visit, journal, plant nurseries | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

crushed oyster shells and chanterelles

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Denise

My new mantra, apparently borrowed from an old Swedish proverb, loosely translated: There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing. To put it in gardener’s speak, we left frostless, drought-ridden zone 10b in early October and are … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, journal, MB Maher | 11 Comments

dispatch from the Oregon coast

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Denise

We’ve been at the Oregon house a little over two weeks, and this Tillamook Rainforest coastal area is now settling into a comfortable steady rain. Late October and November bring some of the heaviest rainfall to the yearly total over … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, journal, plant sales | 7 Comments

clippings 9/30/21

Posted on September 30, 2021 by Denise

A self-sown manihot made an exquisite canopy of uniform growth to 4 feet in its first summer — consolation for the loss of a similar but shorter-lived performance from a young Schefflera taiwaniana, which unlike the manihot had a strong … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema Botanica, clippings, journal, succulents | 7 Comments

APLD Plant Fair 10/2/21 at LA Arboretum

Posted on September 23, 2021 by Denise

The Los Angeles chapter of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers puts on a helluva fall plant fair, and against some impressive odds they have managed to deliver another one for 2021 on October 2nd. And hooray for autumn plant … Continue reading →

Posted in plant nurseries, plant sales, shop talk | 9 Comments

garden clippings 9/7/21

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Denise

Yes, that is a box full of chrysanthemums. Let me explain why such a wildly uncharacteristic flower, for me, is blooming in my otherwise mostly austere and dryish garden. It’s part of the ongoing experiment of trying cut flowers in … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, cut flowers, journal, pots and containers, succulents | 10 Comments

Little Island

Posted on September 4, 2021 by Denise

There is a new waterfront reclamation project in New York City that will take some heat off the 12-year-old High Line as the punching bag for unintended urban renewal consequences. The old elevated railway reimagined by James Corner for plants, … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden visit, MB Maher | 10 Comments

August fidgets part 2

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Denise

So I did act on those August fidgets and started work on a path through the back garden. The planted back garden encompasses roughly a 14X40′  rectangle, and I’ve been inclined to keep every inch of it available for planting, … Continue reading →

Posted in journal | 7 Comments

tying up the blooming bromeliad

Posted on August 18, 2021 by Denise

To continue with the hyper-journaling of the back garden, Alcantarea odorata has been tied upright to the tetrapanax and hummingbirds are able to visit the opening flowers safely and regularly again. That was done last week. Lovely heavy mist this … Continue reading →

Posted in journal | 4 Comments

the path not taken (August fidgets)

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Denise

There are as many ways and reasons to design a garden as their are gardeners — but Im with Billie. Its all about the feet (and paws). I love to play with the varying scale that moving through a garden … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, journal, pots and containers, succulents | 7 Comments