Category Archives: succulents
caudiciform plants for the win
I confess the loss of Beaucarnea ‘Gold Star’ was one I dreaded the most during our extended absence. It was one of the first plants I rushed to check upon return. Survival of caudiciform plants was a theme. Right up … Continue reading
taking stock of the runaway garden
I know “runaway garden” is an oxymoron, but even so the SoCal garden (zone 10) seems to have been on a journey without me, cycling through various caretakers, some benign, some less so. The last few days have been the … Continue reading
Hoffman’s Center for the Arts: The Wonder Garden
The Hoffman Center for the Arts in Manzanita, Oregon, celebrated its 20-year anniversary Saturday August 31. Out of their many programs — clay, writing, visual arts — I became acquainted with the HCA through their horticulture program. The Hoffman’s Wonder … Continue reading
Moir Garden, a Hawaiian succulent garden
My one-year-old granddaughter Domino is already a seasoned traveler. She obtained a passport not long after birth and had it stamped for Tunisia by three months. Her parents are committed vagabonds, so her budding wanderlust is no surprise. Recently Domino … Continue reading
checking in on the zone 10 garden
The Long Beach, CA zone 10 garden had a caretaker in residence for almost a year while we’ve been on the Oregon coast. I think they may have been watering the containers before decamping in July, but I’m not really … Continue reading
catching up with the zone 10 garden
We arrived last Friday, and other than sleeping, I don’t think a broom has left my hand since. The informal team of neighbors and friends who took turns watching over the garden since we left the second week of October … Continue reading
clippings 9/30/21
A self-sown manihot made an exquisite canopy of uniform growth to 4 feet in its first summer — consolation for the loss of a similar but shorter-lived performance from a young Schefflera taiwaniana, which unlike the manihot had a strong … Continue reading
garden clippings 9/7/21
Yes, that is a box full of chrysanthemums. Let me explain why such a wildly uncharacteristic flower, for me, is blooming in my otherwise mostly austere and dryish garden. It’s part of the ongoing experiment of trying cut flowers in … Continue reading
the path not taken (August fidgets)
There are as many ways and reasons to design a garden as their are gardeners — but Im with Billie. Its all about the feet (and paws). I love to play with the varying scale that moving through a garden … Continue reading
while I was away
We have a new member of the family, so of course I had to immediately become acquainted with little Hannah, who resides in a foggy coastal Oregon town. And even though she’s only days’ old, I began deliberating before leaving, … Continue reading