Author Archives: Denise

Echeveria ‘Opal Moon’

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Denise

I always check the succulent tables at plant nurseries for something new and/or bizarre, but the offerings have been much the same so far this year. Once the eye has been well-trained on the familiar, whenever something unfamiliar pops up, … Continue reading →

Posted in succulents | Tagged , | 3 Comments

be afraid: Frankenstein Petunia

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Denise

OK, I find an old paperback of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in the house a few days ago and haven’t been able to put it down. So maybe I’m sensitized to the book’s themes, but I really didn’t expect to find … Continue reading →

Posted in science | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

when agaves become homebodies

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Denise

I’m sure these images have been kicking around design blogs for some time, but if they have I’ve missed them. (Found here at Miluccia, via the magazine Ideat.) It’s easy to become numbed by the tsunami of photos of interiors … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, pots and containers | Tagged | 3 Comments

Jardin Majorelle, Morocco

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Denise

What I know about Yves Saint Laurent, the fashion designer, as opposed to his enormous, well-known cultural celebrity, is limited to sewing up some of his “rich peasant” and stunning Russian collection designs off of Vogue patterns in high school. … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, design, garden travel, garden visit, MB Maher, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

hidden mesoamerican palaces

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Denise

not in Central America but here, in Los Angeles. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Sowden House, of textile-block construction, built for friend and photographer John Sowden in 1926. Renovations by a new owner in 2001 included restoring the stonework and the addition … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, design, garden travel, garden visit | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

tulip report 2013

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Denise

After all the mid-summer catalogue busywork, the list making, the dreaming in color, the potting soil mess, the ritual chilling of the little bundles of bulbs from September to November like some demented grocer, in other words, the really fun … Continue reading →

Posted in Bulbs | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

back in the garden

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Denise

I’ve still got a big cosmic hangover from visiting the California Science Center last week. “Hubble 3-D” was at the IMAX theater. My brain was not built for IMAX movies, so what with the 3-D glasses and sitting too close … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits, science, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

the buzz on plants

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Denise

Got home from work yesterday and was still in the process of dropping all my gear off in the office, when the first person to greet me did so briefly then in quick order uttered those anxiety-making words: “I’ve got … Continue reading →

Posted in creatures, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

clippings 2/26/13

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Denise

Work has piled up, so there’s little time for much else. But something I can always squeeze in while under deadlines are small breaks to read catalogue descriptions of plants. And with impeccable timing, a great Australian plant nursery catalogue … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Les’ Winter Walk-Off

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Denise

Les’ rules (A Tidewater Gardener). Leave your home or workplace on foot. Bicycles are OK. Bring a camera along. Depending where you live, the Winter Walk-off challenge may be a snowy trek requiring a team of huskies and a sled … Continue reading →

Posted in driveby gardens | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments