Author Archives: Denise

“Gardens: An Essay” by Robert Pogue Harrison (reposted from 10/7/11)

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Denise

I’m more than a little overexcited at the prospect of hearing Professor Harrison speak at the latest iteration of Natural Discourse entitled “Culture & Cultivation,” to be held October 10, 2013, in Berkeley, California. The previous Natural Discourse programs were … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, books, Department of Instruction, design, garden travel | Tagged "Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition", "Natural Discourse", architect Julia Morgan, art, gardens, historic hotels, Natural Discourse: Culture & Cultivation 10/10/13, Robert Pogue Harrison, science, Shirley Watts, The Berkeley City Club, The New York Review of Books, UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley | 5 Comments

Clianthus formosus

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Denise

I stopped in at the Sherman Gardens recently to check in on the succulent garden, which I visited a couple years ago and wrote about here. Although that garden looks the same as the day I visited, there was a … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit, Plant Portraits | Tagged >Australian National Botanic Gardens, Australian plants, British navigator William Dampier, Chiltern Seeds, Clianthus formosus, Fabaceae family, Kew, Sherman Library & Gardens, Sturt's Desert Pea, Swainsona formosa, The Royal Botanic Gardens | 12 Comments

evie and the agaves

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Denise

I potted up some offsets from Agave desmettiana ‘Joe Hoak’ yesterday, and Pam’s focus on leaves the 16th of every month was all the occasion I needed to show off the proud agave mama and her pups. That Vanna White … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, pots and containers | Tagged Agave desmettiana 'Joe Hoak', Evie | 10 Comments

Bloom Day September 2013

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Denise

After an interminably hot August, I couldn’t wait to start some fall planting as soon as it cooled down a bit, which means there aren’t exactly buckets of blooms to share. There was a whisper campaign afoot that a local … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloom Day | Tagged Aeoniu 'Zwartkop', Anemone japonica, Echeveria 'Opal Moon', gaillardia, gomphrena, Lessingia filaginifolia, Leucadendron 'Ebony', Pelargonium crispum 'Variegatum', Pennisetum 'Sky Rocket', Persicaria amplexicaulis, Ricinus communis 'New Zealand Purple', Russelia equisetiformis, Solanum pyracantha, Xanthosoma 'Lime Zinger' | 5 Comments

hillside with Schwentker Watts Design

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Denise

I was in a wonderful garden the other night, but was caught flat-footed as far as having any photos to show for it. Although only 7:30ish, twilight doesn’t last long in this Los Angeles neighborhood but is quickly swallowed up … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, climate, design, garden visit, MB Maher, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Bocconia arborea, Cupressus macrocarpa 'Citriodora', Franco-Giacomo Carbone, Harvey Watts, James Schwentker, landscape architecture, Los Angeles, MB Maher, mediterranean climate, Schwentker Watts Design, Silverlake, The Los Angeles Times | 5 Comments

the Climbing Onion, Bowiea volubilis

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Denise

It must be pretty obvious by now that I’m refusing to look at the big, end-of-summer picture. So I’m offering another micro plant portrait, the South African Climbing Onion. Logee’s calls Bowiea volubilis “an old favorite.” If so, this old … Continue reading →

Posted in Bulbs, Plant Portraits | Tagged Bowiea volubilis, climbing onion, Dustin Gimbel, hanging plants, Logee's Greenhouses, South African bulb, Venice Garden & Home Tour 2013 | 2 Comments

Agave ‘Shira ito no Ohi’

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Denise

Or, more specifically, Agave filifera ssp. schidigera ‘Shira ito no Ohi’ (Queen of White Thread Century Plant). No one seems to know the origin of the variegated form of this wee agave with the big name, whose queenly title was … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden travel, plant nurseries | Tagged ' Plant Delights Nursery, 2013 Garden Bloggers Fling, Agave filifera ssp. schidigera 'Shira ito no Ohi', Brian Kemble, Echeveria elegans, Kellee Adams, Queen of White Thread Century Plant), Queen of White Thread-leaf Agave, recessive traits, The Ruth Bancroft Garden, The Wave Garden, Tony Avent | 5 Comments

this summer’s dahlias

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Denise

I moved my one dahlia, the deep burgundy ‘Chat Noir,’ to my community garden plot this summer. Performance was…meh. By August the plant was finished. The soil at the CG still needs work if it’s to grow anything but zinnias … Continue reading →

Posted in cut flowers, garden travel, plant nurseries | Tagged Annie's Annuals & Perennials, cochineal, community gardens, Dahlia 'Chat Noir', Dahlia coccinea, dahlias, Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens | 3 Comments

the hardy tapioca

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Denise

A garden can be a stay-at-home option to ecotourism, where the plants pack their seedy suitcases and travel to us. (If growing any exotic, non-native plant sets your teeth on edge, those categories may be blurring faster than we’d like: … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged cassava, Manihot esculenta, Manihot grahamii, tapioca, tropicals, You Calling Me An Invasive Species?” Tne New York Times 9/7/13, “Hey | 2 Comments

cage lights

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Denise

Cage lights, suspended for hanging candles, flowers. I love messing around with them. last night early this morning About the same size and shape as a cage light, this orange shade was found a while back at Building Resources and … Continue reading →

Posted in cut flowers | Tagged Building, cage lights, Echeveria glauca's flowers, hanging vases, miscanthus, repurposing, tithonia, zinnias | 4 Comments