Author Archives: Denise

holiday shopping at The Huntington

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Denise

I just got my renewed Huntington membership card in the mail. Woohoo! It’s always a relief to have that in my pocket for impromptu visits — or reserved visits, as is the case during the pandemic. (Which is an infectious … Continue reading →

Posted in commerce, plant nurseries, plant sales, pots and containers, succulents | 3 Comments

Calendula ‘Touch of Red’

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Denise

In Southern California, the cool-season annuals have arrived at local nurseries, the violas, stocks, snapdragons, sweet williams, nemesias, Iceland poppies, and lots more I’m forgetting at the moment. Some (or none) appeal to different garden temperaments. I’ve indulged in biennial … Continue reading →

Posted in cut flowers, journal, plant nurseries, pots and containers | Tagged | 10 Comments

reshuffling some garden standbys

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Denise

I edit, thin, and prune the steady accumulation of curbside and flea market finds constantly, but there’s a few stalwarts that consistently defy the purges. This Los Angeles street lamp shade has been kicking around the garden for years and … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents | 5 Comments

it’s summer down under

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Denise

Such a cheery thought, right? Desire to Inspire recently profiled Melbourne landscape design firm King’s Landscaping in a post on KL’s Point Lonsdale “Tree House” which prompted a deeper dive into KL’s website. The Tree House in question is nestled … Continue reading →

Posted in design | 10 Comments

here’s to a long weekend

Posted on November 25, 2020 by Denise

I’m always a miser when cutting flowers from my small garden and prefer to enjoy the much longer performance flowers give when they remain in the garden instead of severed for a vase. But this Thanksgiving seems special, doesn’t it? … Continue reading →

Posted in cut flowers | 4 Comments

late for Bloom Day 11/15/20

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Denise

Mina lobata is late too. The Spanish Flag vine was sown at least by June — okay, I just checked the seed packet and it was sown 6/25/20. So what’s up with waiting to bloom until November? The questions never … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bloom Day, journal, pots and containers, succulents | 8 Comments

privacy issues (or what kept me busy Election Week 2020)

Posted on November 7, 2020 by Denise

And so the lemon cypresses (Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Citriodora’ or Golden Monterey Cypress) came down last Sunday, November 1st. I couldn’t bear to watch the removal of the last two and hid out in the office. They were excellent privacy screens … Continue reading →

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

Celosia argentea ‘Cramer’s Amazon’

Posted on October 23, 2020 by Denise

There’s been a couple of standout plants new to my garden this year, and this vibrant celosia is emphatically one of them. From Annie’s Annuals & Perennials, it was planted from 4-inch pots in August and grew steadily, like it … Continue reading →

Posted in journal, Plant Portraits, succulents | 6 Comments

Pow! Wow! mural by Gail Werner

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Denise

This is my favorite mural in my hometown of Long Beach, Calif. To me, it’s a bird perched on an agave bloom (obviously!), painted in a very graphic style reminiscent of a woodcut. I often suspect many people of being … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, design | 5 Comments

refocusing on succulents

Posted on October 7, 2020 by Denise

More notes on micro-moves in my small back garden, mostly having to do with a succulent-forward mindset for fall/winter here in zone 10. If you scroll down to the previous post, where I mention having to move an aloe because … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, pots and containers, succulents | 9 Comments