Author Archives: Denise

happy holidays

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Denise

I always find that the winter holidays have a lot in common with Silly Putty — extremely malleable, occasionally stretching a little thin, often just straddling the border of tangling up into a fine mess, and in this house anyway, … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

tetrapanax in bloom

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Denise

I know a lot of Tetrapanax papyrifer in zones colder than my zone 10 have their blooms regrettably cut short by winter. Let me just ease your zonal envy a bit, as you gaze on these bodacious panicles, and fully … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged , | 15 Comments

you had me at aloe

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Denise

And now you’ve lost me with aloiampelos, aloidendron, aristaloe, gonialoe, kumara. The genus aloe has just become slightly more complicated. Memory work for 2015 will include absorbing the fan aloe’s new name Kumara plicatilis. (See Gerhard’s very helpful post here.) … Continue reading →

Posted in succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Toyon, California Holly

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Denise

This sturdy evergreen shrub native to California, Heteromeles arbutifolia, is also known as the Christmas Berry or California Holly. Here’s why: There’s an old urban legend that early European settlers in Los Angeles, where this holly lookalike grew especially abundant, … Continue reading →

Posted in cut flowers, Plant Portraits | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

counting euphorbias

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Denise

Tis the season to celebrate euphorbias, since many of us will be living with or gifting/regifting one of its tribe over the next couple weeks, the poinsettia. Call me scrooge, but I’d much rather think about the ones planted in … Continue reading →

Posted in MB Maher, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

weekend nursery browse

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Denise

On the way to dropping off a holiday wreath at my mom’s on Sunday, I stopped for a walkabout at H&H nursery, located on Lakewood Blvd. in a power line easement near the 91 freeway. I was hoping to find … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

cussonia crazy

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Denise

image found here Cussonias are a small genus from Africa and the Mascarene Islands There are maybe 25 species in the small genus known as the Cabbage Trees, and without trying too hard I’ve already brought home five of them. … Continue reading →

Posted in plant crushes, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

thinning dyckias

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Denise

If you asked me what I planned on doing when I woke up that morning a couple Saturdays ago, tackling the enormously overgrown clump of dyckias in the front garden was as remote a contender as washing the windows, which … Continue reading →

Posted in design, journal, Occasional Daily Weather Report, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

echeverias runneth over

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Denise

I work at this building a lot, where there are enormous pots planted with a central Sticks on Fire surrounded by echeverias. Lusty, thriving, insanely multiplying echeverias. They look to be Echeveria secunda. I swear, I get the worst case … Continue reading →

Posted in pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

a Mission Revival garden

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Denise

I wasn’t exactly lost in Beverly Hills today, but traffic was terrible enough that I left the main arteries like San Vicente and dove into surrounding neighborhood streets, looking for a less congested way home. Around Sweetzer I found this … Continue reading →

Posted in design, driveby gardens, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments