Author Archives: Denise

Wednesday clippings 4/15/15 (water on the brain)

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Denise

Finally, a chance to spend some time with the blog again. There’s been lots of reading to catch up on, after the guv dropped that bombshell. (Pass the almonds.*) One of the best sources of information I’ve found was right … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, books, Bulbs, climate, clippings, Plant Portraits, pots and containers | Tagged Agave franzosinii, and Bart O’Brien, Australia, Berkheya purpurea, Beth Chatto's The Dry Garden, Bob Perry, Caesalpinia gilliesii, California drought, Carol Bornstein, Cistus Nursery, David Fross, dry garden, Dustin Gimbel Second Nature Garden Design, Emily Green Chance of Rain, Emily Green's After the Lawn, Hymenolepis parviflora, KCET In-Ground Gardens, Lambley Nursery, Landscape Plants for California Gardens, lawn rebate programs, Long Beach City College Dept of Horticulture, Mark Bittman, Pacific Horticulture, Reimagining the California Lawn, Sphaeralcea 'Newleaze Coral', Verbascum undulatum | 7 Comments

poppy days

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Denise

The Dwarf Breadseed Poppy is carrying the banner for spring here. Quite silky banners too. No stranger to the blog, posts on this poppy go back to 2010. The above photo is from 2011. And no disrespect intended for California’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged Cirsium occidentale, Papaver setigerum, spring wildflowers | 7 Comments

All About Evie

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Denise

All of my cats have been garden cats, but none more so than Evie. The usual drill for my cats has been lounge all day in the garden, then come into the house at night. Not Evie. She insisted on … Continue reading →

Posted in creatures | Tagged Evie the cat | 22 Comments

Echeveria ‘Opal Moon’

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Denise

I’ve been passing this echeveria around all over town (Gail, Kris), so it’s a good time to discuss what it is and what it isn’t. It is not one of those tight, amazingly concentric echeverias like imbricata that draw you … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged Echeveria 'Opal Moon' | 5 Comments

this week in plants

Posted on March 28, 2015 by Denise

My Portland friend Loree at Danger Garden collects impressions of favorite plants at the end of the month, so I put together a contribution of what’s catching my eye this week. I’m enjoying how the Verbascum bombyciferum echoes the rosette … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Abutilon venosum, Agave 'Dragon Toes', Agave celsii var. albicans 'UCB', Albuca maxima, Canna indica, Cistus 'Snow Fire', Crambe maritima, dyckia, Echium simplex, Hymenolepis parviflora, Manihot grahamii, Phlomis lanata, Solanum pyracanthum, Sonchus congestus, Verbascum bombyciferum | 4 Comments

Salvia ‘Love & Wishes’ (a salvia revue)

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Denise

Yes, another salvia post. (You’re looking at a person for whom the ’90s publication of Betsy Clebsch’s master work A Book of Salvias, was a life-altering event.) The two new salvias in my garden are so far living up to … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged A Book of Salvias, Betsy Clebsch, Salvia 'Amistad', Salvia 'Love and Wishes', Salvia 'Waverly', Salvia canariensis, Salvia chiapensis, Salvia mexicana 'Limelight' | 5 Comments

Monday clippings 3/23/15

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Denise

March is certainly a fast-moving month, isn’t it? Some incidents from the garden: Protected under the pergola, the ‘Stained Glass’ octopus agave came through an early March hailstorm without a mark. Agaves tucked against the house, under the eaves, like … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings | Tagged Abutilon venosum, Agave gypsophila 'Ivory Curls', Agave vilmoriniana 'Stained Glass', Banksia ericifolia, Echium simplex, fasciation, Gastrolobium praemorsum 'Bronze Butterfly', Papaver rupifragum, Papaver setigerum, Salvia 'Amistad' | 8 Comments

driveby gardens; sundown on the Miracle Mile

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Denise

I worked in the “Miracle Mile” stretch of Wilshire Boulevard on Thursday, approximately the 5600 block. In the surrounding neighborhoods, the houses had gardens that looked promising and full of interest, so during a 20-minute lunch I dashed out to … Continue reading →

Posted in driveby gardens | Tagged beschorneria, leucospermum | 8 Comments

CSSA 2015 Biennial Convention, June 14-19, 2015

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Denise

agave at South Coast Botanic Garden, a former open pit mine for diatomite extraction, then landfill, now botanic garden I should probably split this glut of information into several posts, but if I don’t sit down right now and do … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, commerce, garden travel, garden visit, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Agave guiengola 'Moto Sierra', Agave isthmensis 'Rum Runner', Aloe 'Martha Layhew, aloes, Brian Kemble, Buck and Yvonne Hemenway, Cactus and Succulent Society of America, CSSA 2015 Biennial Convention, Huntington Botanical Garden, Karen Zimmerman's aloes, Kelly Griffin, Osa pulchra, Panayoti Kelaidis, Pitzer College, Schefflera 'Nova', Sedum dendroideum 'Colossus', South African plants | 7 Comments

a Shirley Watts’ garden

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Denise

Monday features two long-time friends (and family) of AGO. Oldest son Mitch took these photos of a Shirley Watts-designed garden a few years back and kindly agreed to let me share them here. The garden had a lot of formal, … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, design, MB Maher, photography | Tagged garden designer Shirley Watts, MB Maher, Shirley Watts | 12 Comments