Category Archives: clippings

back on the home front

It’s finally happening. Miraculously, after a couple close calls resulting in an almost fatal wilt, Musschia wollastonii has survived and begun to hoist up that much-anticipated chartreuse candelabra of blooms. The Madeira Giant Bellflower must be an unforgettable sight in … Continue reading

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Saturday clippings 7/26/14

Melocactus matanzanus The Orange County Cactus & Succulent Society sale is this weekend, where the buzz and gossip amongst the sales tables might very likely entice you into bringing home your first melocactus. It’s possible that the recent visit to … Continue reading

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sunday clippings 7/6/14

I think the conversation left off with brillantaisia, the salvia look-alike I stumbled upon at the local city college. Except it’s not really a salvia but a member of the acanthaceae family. I did go back for photos and also … Continue reading

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

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

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sunday clippings 6/22/14

Future shock for me has arrived in the guise of an orange wristband. “Congratulations! You moved 24,995 steps, 12.07 miles, 249% of goal!” Jawbone’s UP pedometer calculates all that aimless garden puttering and tallies up some surprising stats. My orange … Continue reading

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planting notes 2014

Every year brings a new crop of preoccupations in the garden, such as: Will the beschorneria choose this spring for their first bloom? How about the puya in the gravel garden? Feel like blooming this year? Some plants really do … Continue reading

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tuesday clippings 4/1/14

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

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Sunday clippings 12/8/13

(baby, it’s cold outside…) The cold front that’s been scaring the bejeezus out of Central Valley citrus growers hit new lows last night. The back garden temperature gauge registered 40 degrees at 7ish a.m., but that’s our moderating coastal influence … Continue reading

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in the news

Since the government shutdown, I’ve been checking in with The New York Times at an increasingly feverish pace, several times a day, (and doing little else, it seems), so it was in real time that the story on James Golden … Continue reading

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clippings 9/30/13

While on the subject of concrete, precast manhole covers, stacked. I prefer to have a day’s worth of concrete projects if I’m going to drag all that mess out. Found at BHG here, but the link loads slow. I was … Continue reading

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