Author Archives: Denise

Bloom Day April 2014

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Denise

A day late for the Bloom Day report, with the above photo of the back garden taken this overcast morning and most of the closeups taken the past couple days. It’s all shockingly rumpled and disheveled already, but I still … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloom Day, journal, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Iris a l’Orange

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Denise

With certain heavily hybridized plants that people have been tinkering with for centuries, like irises, dahlias, and tulips, for instance, you only have to say Let there be orange, click the keys or fill in the catalogue order with your … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged , | 8 Comments

favorites 4/10/14

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Denise

Loree at Danger Garden shares her favorite plants in the garden every week, and spring is a good time to join in, when so much is fleeting and the turnover in favorites comes at a rapid pace. True, that’s not … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bulbs, Plant Portraits | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

green walls around town

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Denise

The Smog Shoppe, a special event venue in Culver City owned by Woolly Pocket creator Miguel Nelson, famously deployed the pockets on its cinder-block facade in 2009, which has since been regularly reported on by local media and blogs. I’d … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, driveby gardens, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on green walls around town

weeds find a way

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Denise

This charming children’s book I was sent to review months ago has reacquainted me with the transformative power of weeds. This is a wonderful subject for a children’s book. Weeds are often a child’s first gateway to the natural world. … Continue reading →

Posted in books, science | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

tuesday clippings 4/1/14

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Denise

I sat down Sunday to write about the flu, earthquakes, and plant shows, but the blog server was down, so Sunday’s clippings has become Tuesday’s. And with the building I worked at today undergoing a bomb threat, I can’t remember … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings, journal, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

compound interest

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Denise

Image found here I don’t have a lot of botanical vocabulary at my fingertips anymore, but I do know a compound leaf when I see one*, since I’ve always had a pronounced weakness for them. If you’ve got a potted … Continue reading →

Posted in design, Plant Portraits, science, shop talk | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

onesies (Stachys ‘Bella Grigio’)

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Denise

I had the best time nursery hopping over the weekend, looking for my mom’s summer tomato plants and gleefully indulging in a practice we’re always sternly advised against: Never buy one of this and that. Always plant in threes and … Continue reading →

Posted in design, Plant Portraits | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Alstroemeria ‘Rock & Roll’ (consider yourself warned)

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Denise

A mind-numbing, eye-hemorrhaging, variegated alstroemeria has been unleashed at Southern California nurseries this spring. I reached for the camera phone when I saw big displays at two nurseries over the weekend. Alstroemeria ‘Rock & Roll.’ The tag predicts that it … Continue reading →

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colors of Acacia baileyana ‘Purpurea’

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Denise

“Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty if only we have the eyes to see them.” — John Ruskin Such solemn earnestness was a hallmark of the Victorian age and much lampooned, but you won’t … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, design, Plant Portraits | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments