Author Archives: Denise

Pennisetum ‘Princess Caroline’

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Denise

I’m still debating whether to include this grass in next year’s garden, but it’s occurred to me that what I consider its vices might be virtues for someone else. Say you can’t grow phormiums and you want a dark-leaved one … Continue reading →

monday clippings 8/5/13 (bromeliads and summer camp)

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Denise

It’s August and I’m craving a summer camp experience. Unfortunately, the summer camp bus left 40 years ago. So up there is my designated summer camp 2013. I admit accommodations are rustic and no-frills, but a short trip up the … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings, creatures, journal, Plant Portraits | Tagged Aechmea 'Loies Pride', Aechmea nudicaulis, Alcanterea 'Volcano Mist', Beschorneria albiflora, Bilbergia ‘Violetta’, bromeliads, Colocasia 'Blue Hawaii', Dyckia dawsonii, Hohenbergia ‘Leopoldo Hortstii’, Neoregelia concentrica, South Bay Bromeliad Associates | 13 Comments

succulents make us do the strangest things

Posted on August 3, 2013 by Denise

I had to laugh when I saw Reuben’s latest project on this post, planting the frame to an old television monitor, which I think is incredibly classy and wish he’d sell to me. (Look at those aeonium knobs!) I completely … Continue reading →

Posted in garden ornament, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged aeoniums, Echeveria glauca, Graptopetalum paraguayense, Rancho Reubidoux, repurposing, salvage, Sedum nussbaumerianum, succulents | 7 Comments

Occasional Daily Photo 7/25/13

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Denise

I’m tying this ODP in with Loree’s favorite plant of the week thread at Danger Garden. Agave attenuata ‘Ray of Light’ I’ve noticed a theme to favorite plants. They’re the ones that beat zonal odds or some foolish mishandling on … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Occasional Daily Photo, plant nurseries | Tagged Agave 'Ray of Light', Danger Garden's favorite plant of the week, San Marcos Growers | 7 Comments

the greenhouse in Minority Report

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Denise

Every summer eventually develops its own indelible rhythms. For instance, I generally don’t like heading into the house until the last rays of light are drained from the sky. Darkness, just as in a hushed theater, is the cue here … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema Botanica | Tagged greenhouses, Minority Report | 9 Comments

Cross-Pollination July 2013

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Denise

Garden designer Dustin Gimbel hosted another of those fabulous mid-summer rave-ups that he calls “Cross-Pollination” at his home and garden, where “hikers, nursery professionals, beekeepers, home brewers, crazy plant people, artists, architects and designers” gather for food and conversation, slipping … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, garden ornament, garden visit, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Acacia pendula, Adenanthos sericeus, Agave attenuata 'Raea's Gold', Agave gypsophila, Aristolochia gigantea, Asparagus densiflorus 'Myers', bocconia, Chrysanthemoides incana, Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold, Cotyledon orbiculata var. flanaganii, Dodonaea viscosa, dyckias, Euphorbia 'Blackbird', Euphorbia cotinifolia, Farfugium japonicum Crispatum, Frankenia thymifolia, Gainey ceramics, garden designer Dustin Gimbel, Gomphrena 'Fireworks', Lessingia filanginifolia, Leucadendron argenteum, Russellia equisetiformis, Sedum rubrotinctum, St. Augustine grass Stenotaphrum secundatum | 17 Comments

driveby garden; AT&T Center, Downtown LA

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Denise

You’d be surprised how many “Angelenos” have never visited Downtown Los Angeles, even now that it is surging with vitality again. For decades it was right up there in ignominious competition as one of the most superfluous, neglected downtowns of … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, driveby gardens, pots and containers | Tagged Agave vilmoriniana, architect Julia Morgan, AT&T Center, Convolvulus sabatius 'Compact', Dichondra argentea., Dorycnium hirsutum, downtown Los Angeles, Gensler architects, Geranium X antipodeum, Herald Examiner building, mediterranean plants, Oreganum dictamnus, ornamental oreganoes, rosemary, South Park neighborhood | 5 Comments

consider the leaves

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Denise

We have Pam at Digging to thank for hosting this monthly celebration of foliage. This month I’m focusing on some of the leaves that impressed me during recent garden travels as well as examples from the back pages of AGO. … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, design, garden travel, garden visit, MB Maher, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Acacia pendula, Aloe striatula, Bernard Trainor, bromeliads, CA, conservatories, Garden Bloggers Fling 2013, garden designer Dustin Gimbel, garden designer Rebecca Sweet, Golden Gate Park Conservatory of Flowers, Hakonechloa macra, Huntington Botanical Gardens, Landcraft Environments, landscape architect Jarrod Baumann, Long Island, Longhouse Reserve, Lysimachia nummularia, Muehlenbeckia axillaris, New York, Planting Fields Arboretum, San Francisco, Zingiber malaysianum | 12 Comments

Bloom Day July 2013

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Denise

An extravagant display of blooms isn’t the overwhelming impression the garden is making this July, which is pretty typical. Though the Pennisetum ‘Skyrocket’ grasses are technically blooming. In the dimming twilight, the ferny leaves of Selinum wallichianum can just be … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bloom Day, pots and containers | Tagged Achillea 'Terracotta', Agave celsii var. albicans 'UCB', Anigozanthos 'Yellow Gem', Aristolochia fimbriata, Aster x frikartii 'Monch', Chloris virgata, Crithmum maritimum, Cuphea viscosissima, Eryngium pandanifolium, Eryngium planum, Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta', Gaillardia 'Oranges & Lemons', Gomphrena 'Strawberry Fields', Nepeta 'Walker's Low', Pennisetum 'Jade Princess', Pennisetum 'Skyrocket', Penstemon 'Hidalgo', Persicaria amplexicaulis, Phylica pubescens, Plectranthus neochilus, Russelia, Russelia equisetiformis, Salvia chiapensis, Salvia greggii 'Salmon Dance', Selinum wallichianum, Senecio viravira, sideritis, Solanum marginatum, Verbena bonariensis | 10 Comments

suitcase plants

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Denise

Any plant is potentially a suitcase plant as far as I’m concerned, but these agaves and the Euphorbia ammak would present especially prickly challenges. Though I suppose, like anything, where there’s a will, there’s a way. But TSA might be … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden travel, plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged "Can You Take Plants on an Airplane?", Agastache 'Summer Glow', begonias, Dan Heims, Euphorbia ammak, Kalanchoe thyrsiflora, LAX Encounter, Long Island, New York, Pennisetum 'Jade Princess', Planting Fields Arboretum, Plectranthus 'Emerald Lace', Terra Nova Nurseries | 5 Comments