Author Archives: Denise

cooling down the house with a garden; a modest proposal

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Denise

I know I mostly talk about plants with a micro focus trained on their singularly gorgeous attributes, like Echium wildpretii above, but with this post I’m going to pull out of that narrow focus a bit and go wider. Normally … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, design, Occasional Daily Weather Report, pots and containers | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

the August urge for going

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Denise

Gardeners are by definition rooted and bound to their gardens. Leaving home can mean missing out, and we don’t want to miss a thing, especially in summer. Like this Puya mirabilis’ first bloom in my garden. Why, hello, you beautiful, … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, garden travel, plant sales, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

friday clippings 7/28/17

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Denise

I’ve been in an insatiable mood for plant shopping lately. I found this variegated form of Salvia ‘Berggarten’ yesterday at Roger’s Gardens and am putting up its portrait immediately because it may be its last. This salvia and my soil … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, plant sales, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

musing on Tom Stuart-Smith’s garden

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Denise

Today I’m coveting this long water tank “rill” in British landscape designer Tom Stuart-Smith’s garden flanked with bearded irises, Stipa gigantea, and astrantia, a scene possibly from late spring/very early summer? The first two I can grow here in zone … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, climate, design | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

midsummer tuneup

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Denise

July is usually the month my garden needs a tuneup, a jolt of the unfamiliar to keep me inspired all summer long. Checking out July Bloom Day posts back to 2013, this July has a lot of the same characters … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, plant crushes | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Sunnylands

Posted on July 23, 2017 by Denise
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Cinema Botanica, garden travel, garden visit, succulents | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Summer Nights in the Garden at L.A.’s Natural History Museum

Posted on July 20, 2017 by Denise

Wisps of Dalea greggii with opuntia and ‘Sharkskin’ agave atop the Living Wall. Sunset and St. Catherine’s Lace, Eriogonum giganteum Finally, an opportunity to grab some “magic hour” photos of Mia Lehrer’s entrance garden (former parking lot) at the Natural … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, garden visit | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

a restored Lautner house

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Denise

It’s summer, so I’ve become fixated again on windows, views through windows, breezes through windows. In my inbox recently from Dwell, this house in Desert Hot Springs caught my eye, built by architect John Lautner, a protege of Frank Lloyd … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, garden travel, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Susanna Dadd in Pacific Horticulture

Posted on July 17, 2017 by Denise

This summer issue of Pacific Horticulture is so much fun, filled as it is with lots of familiar faces and voices. All kinds of echoes and ripples from the virtual garden community spill over into this issue. Not only does … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, blog, design, garden visit, MB Maher | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Bloom Day July 2017

Posted on July 16, 2017 by Denise

Don’t laugh, but I really did worry this spring that there might be some gaps and (gasp!) bare soil this summer. I thought I was being much too generous with spacing as I split up grasses over the winter and … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bloom Day, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments