Category Archives: Bulbs
Occasional Daily Weather Report 10/28/11
Days in the mid to high 70s (Fahrenheit to Celsius conversion), nights in the low to mid 50s. Finding just the right angle of morning sun and then holding absolutely still for maximum absorption is a morning’s work for Evie. … Continue reading
Bloom Day October 2011
The highest temps all summer hit last week, an unwelcome intrusion into fall planting season. Limbing up the big smoke tree a few weeks ago allowed a lot more light into the back garden, setting in motion some deadly domino … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bloom Day, Bulbs, Plant Portraits, succulents
Tagged Dahlia 'Chat Noir', Digging Dog Nursery, Grevillea 'Superb', Nerine sarniensis, Persicaria amplexicaulis, Ricinus communis 'New Zealand Purple', Rudbeckia triloba, Salvia canariensis var. candissima, Salvia madrensis, Selinum wallichianum, Thunbergia gregorii
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Rained Out
Unlike a sporting event or outdoor concert or meal, a Southern California garden that’s rained out in early October is cause for rejoicing. And to really intensify the blissed-out experience of the first seasonal rains, just the day before you … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bulbs, design, garden visit, Occasional Daily Weather Report, Plant Portraits
Tagged Agave bovicornuta, Agave desmettiana 'Variegata', Agave parryi var. truncata, Allium sphaerocephalum, Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition', climate change, dahlias, garden disputes, Pennisetum 'Princess Caroline', prechilling tulips, Salvia farinacea 'Texas Violet', San Marcos Growers
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a monday collage
A new week, slightly out of focus. Feed the cats, make the coffee, read Paul Krugman’s column. Routines are the pitons hammered into the seams of blurry grey rock that is a Monday morning. A quick check on the garden. … Continue reading
Summer’s Bounty
Man cannot live by tomatoes alone. (The first dahlia opened today.) There’s no way I’m going to keep the garden moist enough simply for a few dahlias to thrive, but I’d hate to face August and September without them. So … Continue reading
Sean Hogan at Flora Grubb Gardens
On Sunday, July 17, 2011, Sean Hogan of Cistus Nursery, Portland, Oregon, gave a talk at Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco, California, entitled “The Art of the Rosette.” I’ve visited Cistus Nursery twice, so I know first-hand that it’s … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bulbs, MB Maher, pots and containers, succulents, The Hortorialist
Tagged Agave 'Spot', Agave schidigera 'Black Widow', Agave schidigera 'Durango Delight', Agave schidigera 'Shira ito no Ohi', Aloe 'Brass Hat', Cistus Nursery, eucomis, Flora Grubb Gardens, Hechtia texensis, Mangave 'Bloodspot', Mangave undulata 'Chocolate Chips', Opuntia fragilis, Plantlust, Sean Hogan, Tradescantia sillamontana, Yucca angustissima 'Southside', Yucca nana, Yucca rostrata 'Sapphire Skies'
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Gladiolus communis ssp. byzantinus
Some byzantine glads opened while I was out of town a few days. Flowers have that unerring sense of timing, don’t they? As I’ve written before, these bulbs are an inferior strain, in that they are not the desired deep … Continue reading
Posted in Bulbs
Tagged Beth Chatto, Gladiolus communis ssp. byzantinus, Old House Gardens
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Plant Show Weekend/Weakened
I vaguely remember promising not to post any more photos of tulips, so in my weakened state I’m violating that oath with one more photo of tulips ‘Queen of the Night,’ taken just before heading north for the San Francisco … Continue reading
Tulip Report/Queen of the Night
Sounds less zombie-ish in French: Reine de la Nuit Amazingly long stems, over 2 feet, planted in a shallow bowl. With ‘Double Beauty of Apeldoorn’ This will most likely be my final tulip report. A couple pots of bulbs had … Continue reading
Tulip ‘Double Beauty of Apeldoorn’
This is some of what I’ll be spending my tulip money on next year.