Author Archives: Denise

small taste of summer

Posted on June 6, 2018 by Denise

For summer, valerian and nicotiana light up what’s mainly a planting of shrubs and succulents the remaining seasons. As much as I love intoxicating displays of summer abundance, this little garden has to remain sober and on duty all 12 … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden visit, journal, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Agave filifera ssp. schidigera 'Shira ito no Ohi', Angelica stricta 'Purpurea', Baltic parsley Cenolophium denudatum, Eryngium pandanifolium, Pennisetum 'Karley Rose', Phlomis 'Sunningdale Gold', Plectranthus argentatus, Puya laxa, salvia, Senecio medley-woodii, Senecio palmeri, Solanum valerianum 'Navidad Jalisco' | 11 Comments

revisiting Nancy Goslee Power’s private garden

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Denise

The Los Angeles Times ran a profile on Ms. Power this weekend (“She spent decades transforming Southern California landmarks. Go inside Nancy Goslee Power’s private garden,” so I’m grabbing the opportunity to repost a visit I made to her garden … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden visit | Tagged Nancy Goslee Power, Southern Californnia, summer dry climate | 5 Comments

friday clippings 6/1/18

Posted on June 1, 2018 by Denise

I’ve been in somewhat of a torpor since cracking a rib earlier in the week. Planting, digging, relocating potted plants, shoving heavy things around, in other words, my favorite pursuits — very little of this is possible at the moment. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema Botanica, clippings, garden travel, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Annie's Annuals & Perennials, Derry Watkins Special Plants Nursery, Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf, Flowers By The Sea, RHS Wisley, Salvia bullulata 'Pale Form', Salvia guaranitica 'Jean's Jewel' | 8 Comments

Hawaii on my mind

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Denise

Because my oldest brother on the Big Island, near Hilo, has been waffling over staying, going, staying, going — what to do with the dogs? — for most of May, that’s why Hawaii is on my mind these days. I … Continue reading →

Posted in journal | Tagged Kilauea volcanic eruption 2018, Lotusland | 6 Comments

Dustin Gimbel’s garden in May

Posted on May 24, 2018 by Denise

I’ve talked about Dustin’s ceramics a lot lately, but how’s his garden growing this very grey-skied May? Last week Shirley Watts was in town for talks on the next installment of Natural Discourse’s installation at the LA Arboretum in spring … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, design, garden visit, MB Maher, pots and containers | Tagged Acacia pendula, Agave mitis var. albidior, Anthericum saundersiae 'Variegata', Bilbergia 'Hallelujah', Dustin Gimbel Second Nature Garden Design, garden designer Shirley Watts, Natural Discourse 2018, Russelia equisetiformis, Trachelospermum asiaticum 'Ogon Nishiki' | 9 Comments

the Nino garden gnome

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Denise

You either embrace kitsch or you don’t (i.e. run away screaming). Or, in the case of Rome-based Plato Designs, you turn kitsch on its red-hooded head and recast it in cubist contours. “Garden gnomes: love them or hate them, there … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden ornament | Tagged garden gnomes, Nino garden gnome, Plato Designs | 2 Comments

Gilmour’s Interactive U.S. Planting Zone Map for 2018

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Denise

“Planting zones are broken down into thirteen areas, also known as USDA zones, which cover the entire United States, including Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico. Each agricultural zone covers a 10-degree range. Zone 1 is the coldest, with an average … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, science | Tagged Gilmour, Holdridge Life Zones Data Set, USDA planting zones, warm temperate thorn steppe | 9 Comments

multifaceted Mirador house, Austin TX

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Denise

Heroic in scale, the agaves and Cor-Ten steel undulating walls wet with rain, topped by a grove of Yucca rostrata at the rear entrance to the property. I was so intrigued by this garden I visited in Austin earlier this … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, design, garden travel, garden visit | Tagged Agave ovatifolia, Austin, COR-TEN steel, Curt Arnette, Garden Bloggers Fling 2018, LaRue Architects, Yucca rostrata | 13 Comments

friday clippings 5/18/18

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Denise

Do you ever worry that you’re getting a little jaded, just slightly inured to cool stuff because we see so much of it now via blogs, Instagram, online periodicals? I admit I worry that occasionally feeling a little inspirationally flat … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings | Tagged Beth Chatto, Christian Marsden, Izawa Ceramics, Jenny Stocker, Saya Designs, Stolen Form, William Finnegan | 4 Comments

Bloom Day May 2018

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Denise

The Chinese Fringe Tree, Chionanthus retusus, seemingly leafs out and blooms simultaneously. Every year before it does so and appears instead to be quite dead, I fear that this is the year it has truly died, succumbing to lack of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloom Day | Tagged ' Amicia zygomeris, Abutilon megapotamicum 'Red', Aeonium 'Berry Exciting', Aeonium leucoblepharum, Aloe camperi, Berlandiera lyrata, Centranthus lecoqii, Euphorbia xanti, Fuchsia, Hazardia detonsa, Lavandula 'Goodwin Creek Grey', Pelargonium acetosum 'Peach', Phytolacca icosandra | 8 Comments