Author Archives: Denise

Wonder Garden, Manzanita OR May 2026

Posted on May 4, 2026 by Denise

The Wonder Garden is a volunteer-driven, horticultural branch of the Hoffman Center for the Arts in Manzanita, Oregon. Since I’ve been volunteering the past several years, the Wonder Garden seems to evolve effortlessly from strength to strength. But having participated … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit, Oregon garden | 7 Comments

the old cedar

Posted on April 29, 2026 by Denise

Even as a part-time local, it took me a couple passes to find the tight entrance off 101 to the Cedar Wetlands Nature Preserve just outside Rockaway Beach. (I think there’s a small sign if you’re heading south on 101; … Continue reading →

Posted in garden travel, plant crushes | 5 Comments

Presidio Tunnel Tops

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Denise

I first heard of what has come to be known as the Presidio Tunnel Tops in 2015, when visiting landscape architect Rania Reyes mentioned her involvement in a new Presidio Parklands Project in San Francisco. Rania was being given a … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden travel, garden visit, MB Maher, succulents | 9 Comments

some April PDX gardens

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Denise

(“Oregon Route 6, known as the Wilson River Highway, is a scenic but treacherous 52-mile route connecting Tillamook (U.S. 101) to the Portland metro area (U.S. 26) through the Tillamook State Forest. Completed in 1941, this critical coastal artery is notorious … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit | 8 Comments

microabundance/Granada Coffee Shop

Posted on April 20, 2026 by Denise

In spring 2025, Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson was published, a nonfiction work examining why we can’t seem to get things built for the common good anymore and the bureaucratic difficulties facing small businesses. Using examples like California’s … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, commerce, garden visit | 4 Comments

back in the Oregon Coast garden spring 2026

Posted on April 14, 2026 by Denise

It’s raining. There’s tons to do. Five minutes home and we’re already chopping up the neighbor’s downed tree limb and beginning cleanup. Absent since November, there’s that burning question immediately upon arrival in spring: How did the garden fare over … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Oregon garden, pots and containers, succulents | 5 Comments

clippings late March 2026

Posted on March 30, 2026 by Denise

The Long Beach garden is throwing a low-key sendoff, mainly with the blooming of Geranium maderense ‘Alba.’ It is almost distracting enough to take my mind off the delayed cutback urgently needed right now in the Oregon garden — possibly … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings, journal, Los Angeles garden post 2024 | 9 Comments

Sherman Gardens & Library under renovation March 2026

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Denise

With the heat wave mostly over, yesterday I drove south to Newport Beach for some garden time. Bathed in the cool coastal conditions at the Pacific Ocean, the Sherman Gardens & Library are a genteel lunch and garden destination that … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit, journal, plant sales, pots and containers, succulents | 4 Comments

notes on the March heatwave

Posted on March 18, 2026 by Denise

Monday morning dawned fresh and cool with a minor epiphany. Stepping out the backdoor, the opening of the first poppy scrambles a sleepy brain with the sensation of a delicate jellyfish floating over the garden (upside down). This week’s West … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, journal, Los Angeles garden post 2024, pots and containers, succulents | 4 Comments

modern picnic table

Posted on March 8, 2026 by Denise

With temps in Los Angeles unable to stay out of the 80s°F for long, the absence of a picnic table in my life rose to the level of an all-consuming void. Marty knows this fixation of mine well and has … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, Los Angeles garden post 2024 | 7 Comments