Category Archives: artists

“The Artful Garden” featuring Shirley Watts, Portland, Oregon 2/15/15

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Denise

Detail of mural in the new reception hall at Rancho Los Alamitos. I don’t suppose there’s the smallest chance we’ll ever see a “bullet train” built that runs to Portland, Oregon, since the voter-approved Los Angeles-to-San Francisco high-speed train has … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, design, garden travel, succulents | Tagged "The Artful Garden" 2/15/15, Agave schidigera, Aloe marlothii, Bilbergia nutans, Dasylirion wheeleri, Golden Barrel Cactus Echinocactus grusonii, Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, Portland State University Hoffman Hall, Rancho Los Alamitos, Shirley Watts, Strelitzia reginae | 9 Comments

floral fireworks

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Denise

Oooh…it looks just like…Calluna vulgaris ! At fireworks shows, I’m the one that keeps up a running commentary of free associations, so this “Flowerwork” by artist Sarah Illenberger for The Plant journal was an instant hit with me. From her … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, photography, Plant Portraits | Tagged "Flowerwork", Sarah Illenberger, The Plant journal | 1 Comment

Natural Discourse: Light & Image 2014, an epilogue

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Denise

Ever wonder when our buildings are going to have the photosensitivity and photoreactivity of plants? Dale Clifford, with his focus on biomimetics applied to architecture, is on the case, investigating the possibility of designing a photoreactive brick inspired by the … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, Department of Instruction, MB Maher, photography, science, succulents | Tagged Dale Clifford, Folly Bowl, Garden designer Sue Dadd, glass artist Christian Thornton, Harvard's Ware Collection of Glass Plants, interactive computer programming, Interactive Programmer John Carpenter, James Griffth, Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Marion Brenner, MB Maher, Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore, Natural Discourse: Light & Image, Richard Schulhof, Roger Hangarter, Shirley Watts, Silverlake Farms, terraced gardens, University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley, Ware Collection Manager Jenny Brown, Xaquixe Glass Innovation Studio | 7 Comments

Natural Discourse at Los Angeles Co. Arboretum 10/18/14

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Denise

The drive will be considerably shorter for me to this year’s Natural Discourse, which will be held close to home at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden: “A symposium presented by the Garden Conservancy and the Arboretum that … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, garden visit, MB Maher, science | Tagged Garden Conservancy, Lorene Edwards Forkner, Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, MB Maher, Natural Discourse: Light & Image, Pacific Horticulture, Shirley Watts | Leave a comment

Fernando Caruncho’s Design Studio

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Denise

Images from Architectural Digest of the design studio of the Spanish landscape architect who resolutely insists on being called a gardener. As with stripping down occupations to their mythic essence, Caruncho does the same for gardens, revealing anew the power … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, climate, design, photography | Tagged "A Landscape Designer's Airy Studio in Madrid", Architectural Digest, Fernando Caruncho, landscape architecture, Simon Watson photography | 5 Comments

supergraphic Deborah Sussman

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Denise

When I visited Los Angeles’ Grand Park for the first time, I didn’t know that environmental designer Deborah Sussman, who passed away last week at age 83, was the force behind those shocking pink chairs and benches, a color Ms. … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, design, garden visit | Tagged 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, California, Charles & Ray Eames, Deborah Sussman, Design Boom, environmental design, Frances Anderton, Grand Park, KCRW's Design & Architecture, Los Angeles, Pacific Standard Time at LACMA, photographer Jim Simmons, Sussman/Prejza & Co, World Landscape Architecture, WUHO Gallery | 5 Comments

Friday clippings 8/22/14

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Denise

At first sight I became enthralled by artist James Griffith’s exquisite, painterly ripostes to the “drill, baby, drill” set — my words, not his. James is much more polite. By way of a secret alchemy, he utilizes that precious resource … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, clippings, MB Maher, photography, plant nurseries, succulents | Tagged Aloe capitata var. quartzicola., Begonia 'Paul Hernandez', California Greenhouses, Editor Emeritus Pacific Horticulture, Folly Bowl Summer Concert Series, Garden designer Sue Dadd, James Griffith's La Brea Tar Paintings, La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Marion Brenner, Natural Discourse; Light & Image 10/18/14, Potted For Outdoor Living, Richard Turner, Sanseviera 'Black Gold', Shirley Watts, Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Plants | 5 Comments

sunday clippings 7/6/14

Posted on July 6, 2014 by Denise

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 →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, clippings, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged "Botany's New Boys" by Michael Tortorello, "Sowing a Garden One Knit Flower at a Time, Agave celsii var. albicans 'UCB', Agave x leopoldii, Aloe cameronii, artist Tatyana Yanishevsky, Brillantaisia subulugurica, Garden Designer Carolyn Mullet, Lavandula multifida, Melianthus 'Purple Haze', Paul Stamet's 6 ways mushrooms can save the world, Salvia 'Amistad', Tanacetum vulgare 'Isla Gold', TED talk, ” | 7 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

museum Sunday

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Denise

Frida Kahlo in the Sun by Leo Matiz In what now seems like the dim past, the family photo album was a holy book, kept on prominent display in the sitting room, perhaps atop the piano draped in a fringe … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, photography, Plant Portraits | Tagged cycads, Frida Kahlo, LACMA palm garden, Lepidozamia peroffskyana, Macrozamia moorei, Museum of Latin American Art, Robert Irwin | 1 Comment