Category Archives: succulents

Lotusland, garden provocateur

More from that June visit to Lotusland, Ganna Walska’s 37-acre estate near Santa Barbara, California. In the comments to this post, Emily kindly provided a link to an English series “Around the World in 80 Gardens,” in which a visit … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, garden travel, garden visit, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

bug report & EOMV

“None of the ants previously seen by man were more than an inch in length – most considerably under that size. But even the most minute of them have an instinct and talent for industry, social organization, and savagery that … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, creatures, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Wanda Mallen & Gary Vincent’s Fallbrook garden

The CSSA’s tour of private gardens for their 2015 Biennial Convention in June also included the 2-acre garden of Wanda Mallen and Gary Vincent in Fallbrook, Calif. This superb collector’s garden, started from scratch in approximately 1999-2000, is occasionally open … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden visit, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Wednesday clippings 8/26/15

So what’s shakin’ this muggy end of August? As little as possible, you say? There’s been all manner of weird stuff going on, including a recurring problem with street-parked neighborhood cars getting their gas siphoned. This on the heels of … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, succulents | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

DIY therapy

One of my boys is experiencing some painful romantic complications, which is frustrating for both of us because in grappling with the problem I necessarily have to accept the fact that my boys are now men. But he hurts, therefore … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , | 13 Comments

aftermath of the Inter-City Show & Sale

As a kid, sneaking with my best friend into the unoccupied bedroom of her older sister and marveling at her sophisticated possessions, I still vividly remember finding the Rolling Stones’ album “Aftermath.” The older sister immediately rose several degrees cooler … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Inter-City Cactus Show & Sale August 8 & 9, 2015

Thank goodness there’s a big plant sale to look forward to in August. 30th Annual Inter-City Cactus and Succulent Show and Sale The LA County Arboretum in Ayres Hall 301 North Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007 Saturday, August 8, 2015, … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The landscape at Pitzer College; The John R. Rodman Arboretum

“It’s difficult to sum up the Arboretum in a phrase… Perhaps the core is a search for a third way between the two traditional American paths: the exploitation of nature and the worship of a sacred, untouchable nature … a … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden visit, succulents | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

CSSA road trip June 2015

Enormous Quiver Tree, Aloidendron dichotoma, and cycads in a Fallbrook, California private garden It’s so true that passion bestows courage on the meek. A passion for plants put me on a bus one early Wednesday last June, a bus filled … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden visit, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

CMU bench/planter at Manaow

I finally found a moment when Manaow’s CMU bench/planter could be investigated minus the usual throngs of people. That window of quiet was around 7 a.m. in the morning, when the only activity at this east end of Broadway was … Continue reading

Posted in design, driveby gardens, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments