Author Archives: Denise

so I brought home another New Zealander

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Denise

Yesterday’s nursery jaunt included Roger’s Garden in Newport Beach, where I found the New Zealander of the title, Cassinia fulvida, and Village Nursery in Huntington Beach. Driving empty freeways sounds like a great time, but it eerily underscores how aberrant … Continue reading →

Posted in journal, plant nurseries, pots and containers | 6 Comments

the dappled life

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Denise

So you’re planting and planting your little garden and having the best time, but because your undisciplined and eclectic taste runs to every kind and type of green life, from ground hugging to tree size, inevitably you wake up one … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, journal, pots and containers | 4 Comments

still plant shopping

Posted on April 26, 2020 by Denise

With demoralizing chaos at the federal level continuing unabated, it’s incredibly reassuring to experience the pragmatic approaches deployed locally. Let’s just take for an example, oh, I dunno — shopping for plants, for instance. I’ve been shopping every couple weeks … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, plant nurseries, pots and containers | 6 Comments

the Glatstein garden by Dustin Gimbel

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Denise

I knew for the past year or so that the Los Angeles Times would eventually publish an article on the Glatstein family’s Long Beach garden designed by ceramicist Dustin Gimbel a few years back. Even so, the March 31, 2020 … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, design, garden visit, MB Maher, pots and containers, succulents | 9 Comments

bloomday April 2020

Posted on April 15, 2020 by Denise

I’ve decided I’ve got to cut back on baking — that’s just not sustainable for this unforeseeable, housebound future. So today I hope to tackle the creeping fig on the back wall, which has footage of overgrowth and is also … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloom Day | 3 Comments

saturday clippings 4/4/20

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Denise

A quick tour around the back garden this early April morning. A tidal surge of spring growth is washing up on the gravel under the pergola. It’s a small-garden microcosm and abridged version of a long, undulating path with plants … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit, Plant Portraits | 3 Comments

the blue garden

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Denise

As of today, March 30, 2020, in Southern California we can still walk our neighborhoods, if not the parks, trails, and beaches, and that is no small comfort. Mitch’s base during this “safer at home” period has been Hollywood, and … Continue reading →

Posted in driveby gardens, garden visit, MB Maher | 6 Comments

front garden retrospective

Posted on March 28, 2020 by Denise

Since I greedily planted the long, narrow front garden smack up against the fence that separates us from legions of parked cars and noisy, fast-moving traffic, it’s difficult to maneuver around for photos (and maintenance). Also, a lot of toothy … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, succulents | 5 Comments

monday’s plants 3/23/20

Posted on March 23, 2020 by Denise

Leaving the bizarro world aside for the moment, and desperately clinging to the bright side, at least this unusual March has been a good month for rain in Los Angeles. We’re just about an inch below average, which is great … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Occasional Daily Weather Report, Plant Portraits, succulents | 3 Comments

some plants that got away

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Denise

Continuing in a reflective, “safer at home” mood, from the AGO archives, these would be plants that got away for various reasons — grew too large, grew too slow, grew in a spot I needed for something new, but all … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | 5 Comments