Author Archives: Denise

Venice Garden & Home Tour suspended for 2015

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Denise

Last year I mixed up the dates and foolishly missed the Venice Garden & Home Tour. So tonight, tra la la, I’m diligently checking the date early to mark in bold letters on my brand-new 2015 desktop calendar…which is when … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit, MB Maher | Tagged | 11 Comments

Bloom Day January 2015

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Denise

It wouldn’t do to start the new year off skipping the first Bloom Day, which is technically the 15th of every month, but our host Carol (May Dreams Gardens) doesn’t seem to mind slackers. Helleborus argutifolius, the last plant remaining, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloom Day, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Blue-Podded Blauwschokkers

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Denise

The modest haul from my little community garden plot yesterday. I’ve got the smallest size plot available, 10X10, but so far it’s just big enough. I am so not a serious grower of edibles. I don’t can, pickle, or freeze. … Continue reading →

Posted in edibles | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

floral fireworks

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Denise

Oooh…it looks just like…Calluna vulgaris ! At fireworks shows, I’m the one that keeps up a running commentary of free associations, so this “Flowerwork” by artist Sarah Illenberger for The Plant journal was an instant hit with me. From her … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, photography, Plant Portraits | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Occasional Daily Weather Report 1/11/15 (the rainy day song)

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Denise

image found here We all know that famous paean to a rainy day. But there’s another rainy day tribute, done by Sesame Street in the 1980s, that is every bit as much an earworm. Decades later, everyone at our house … Continue reading →

Posted in Occasional Daily Weather Report | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Cinema Botanica: Only Lovers Left Alive

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Denise

If time is an ocean, then 2015 is already bobbing with the detritus of Best-of-2014 lists. I usually love these lists but just don’t have any idea where to look now that there’s so many out there. There was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema Botanica | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Occasional Daily Weather Report 1/2/15

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Denise

The thrumming of little portable heaters has been the constant background noise here at home in these brand-new days of the new year. A post-holiday chest cold has descended on the entire household, which has left me fit for nothing … Continue reading →

Posted in Occasional Daily Weather Report, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

revisiting Rancho Los Alamitos; a repost from January 2014

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Denise

(In the final countdown to the end of 2014, I’m reposting my visit to Rancho Los Alamitos in January 2014 entitled “back at the ranch“) All day long this past work- and appointment-filled Wednesday I clung to the idea of … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit | Tagged | 4 Comments

large pot with shrub and succulents

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Denise

I didn’t leave the house Sunday, so wandered the back garden this morning in search of something newsworthy to report. This large container seems to be coming along nicely. Just recently it was rim-rolled into the back garden again to … Continue reading →

Posted in MB Maher, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

stellar agaves

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Denise

The ancient Aztec riddle asked “What points its finger at the sky?” and the riddle’s answer is “the Maguey Thorn.” Left-over plans from 2014: So when I finally get around to making a Steller contribution featuring agaves, these are some … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies | Tagged | 6 Comments