Category Archives: garden visit

Portland Pots It Up

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Denise

There’s so many reasons for plants to spend some or even all of their lives in containers. Aside from the practical reasons — fine-tuning sunlight, better drainage, more moisture, less moisture, special soil mixes, protection from chewing and digging creatures, … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, garden ornament, garden travel, garden visit, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Aloe plicatilis, Begonia boliviensis, Bella Madrona gardens, Cistus Nursery, Ernst/Fuller Gardens, Euphorbia ammak, garden designer Laura Crockett, garden designer Sean Hogan, Gomphrena 'Pink Zazzle', JJ Sousa Digs Inside and Out, John Kuzma's garden, Joy Creek Nursery, Oregon, Pomarius Nursery, Portland, Potted For Outdoor Living, Westwind Farm Studio | 12 Comments

impressions of Portland gardens (in the zone of filtered sunshine)

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Denise

Since returning from touring gardens and nurseries in Portland last week, I’ve been haphazardly researching what makes the Pacific Northwest so full of great gardens and nurseries. Not expecting any definitive answer, just scrounging around for clues. Portland’s enviably soft … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, garden travel, garden visit, Plant Portraits, pots and containers | Tagged 2014 Portland Garden Bloggers Fling, Cistus Nursery, Fatsia japonica 'Spider's Web', Joy Creek Nursery, Modern Jackass/This American Life, Oregon, Pomarius Nursery, Portland, Rhus typhina Tiger Eye Sumac, Solanum pyracanthum, Willamette Valley | 12 Comments

notes from the CSSA plant sale at the Huntington June 28-29, 2014

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Denise

Aloe cameronii from the Cactus & Succulent Society of America show and sale at the Huntington this weekend. An aloe famous for the deep coloring of is leaves, which requires harsh treatment to maintain, full sun and minimal water. I … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, garden visit, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged 29th Annual Intercity Show at LA County Arboretum, Agave bracteosa, Aloe cameronii, Cactus and Succulent Society of America, Cephalocereus urbanianus, Huntington Botanical Gardens, Notocactus magnificus | 4 Comments

summer in Judy Horton’s garden

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Denise

A couple weekends ago, the Southern California Horticultural Society hosted another “Coffee in the Garden,” and included was a garden that I had been advised not to miss should it come up for tour. (Thank you, Shirley Watts!) For her … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, design, garden visit, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Acacia boormanii, Aloe plicatilis, Beechwood Canyon, begonias, Blechnum brasiliense, CA, Echeveria agavoides, garden designer Judy Horton, Hollywood, Kalanchoe thyrsiflora, Southern California Horticultural Society, Teucrium fruticans | 8 Comments

a long weekend (and a local plant sale)

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Denise

Name me three other words in the English language that can be strung together to produce as exciting an effect as A…Long…Weekend. The pergola table will have to be cleared for weekend breakfasts and dinners. (I never seem to eat … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit, plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Dustin Gimbel's June 14th plant sale, Memorial Day Weekend, Sonchus canariensis, three-day weekends | 3 Comments

dishy tillandsias

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Denise

From a garden on the Los Angeles Garden Conservancy Open Days tour last weekend.

Posted in garden travel, garden visit, Occasional Daily Photo, pots and containers | Tagged Garden Conservancy Open Days Los Angeles, hanging plants, tillandsias | 1 Comment

on the tour; chasing variegated chimeras

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Denise

A garden I visited on Saturday decidedly belonged to a devotee of the variegated leaf. (It takes one to know one.) The infatuation wasn’t apparent at first glance. This was a mature garden, well-treed, bambooed and shrubbed. But after every … Continue reading →

Posted in driveby gardens, garden visit, Plant Portraits, science | Tagged Acanthus mollis 'Tasmanian Angel', alocasia, chimeral variegation, Fallopia japonica 'Variegata', Pinus wallichiana 'Zebrina', variegated leaves, variegated monstera | 4 Comments

on the tour; Passiflora vitifolia

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Denise

The self-guided Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour stretches from my hometown in Long Beach to about 50 miles south, as far as San Clemete and Mission Viejo. For much too short a span of time, but long enough for … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit, Plant Portraits | Tagged Crimson Passion Vine, Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour, Passiflora vitifolia, The Sheepfold | 2 Comments

waxflowers in bloom at Grand Park

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Denise

The last time I worked at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse prompted this post on Grand Park*. Yesterday the waxflowers were in bloom, an Australian shrub that most likely passed completely unnoticed at my last visit. The waxflower, or chamelaucium, … Continue reading →

Posted in cut flowers, garden visit, Plant Portraits | Tagged Australian plants, chamelaucium, Los Angeles Grand Park, Made in America Festival Los Angeles 2014, waxflower | 3 Comments

the desert gardens of Steve Martino

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Denise

I’m checking the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days website daily now, anxiously awaiting full publication of this year’s schedule. I’m expanding my radius to include Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, Palm Springs, California, New Mexico, anyplace I’ll be likely to find some … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden travel, garden visit, succulents | Tagged desert gardens, Garden Conservancy Open Days, landscape artchitect Steve Martino | 5 Comments