Category Archives: succulents
Kalanchoe ‘Oak Leaf’
Wonderful architectural bloom trusses on this 5-gallon kalanchoe at Lincoln Avenue Nursery in Pasadena. Was this a Kalanchoe beharensis in flower? The leaves at the base of the plant were difficult to see without disturbing the careful display. The San … Continue reading
ghosts of gardens past
Cleaning out old photo albums releases lots of ghosts of gardens past. Do I feel guilty and as greedy as Scrooge over all the plants that have come and gone? Not a bit. I do notice that I’ve become more … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, plant crushes, Plant Portraits, succulents
Tagged Anemanthele lessoniana, Centranthus ruber 'Alba', Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, Echeveria 'Black Prince', Geranium 'Dragon Heart', Geranium pyrenaicum 'Bill Wallis', Libertia peregrinans, Lophomyrtus x ralphii 'Red Dragon', Persicaria amplexicaulis, Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Golf Ball', Rose 'Chromatella', Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain', Sedum nussbaumerianum, Stipa arundinacea, Stipa tenuissima, Vitis vinifera 'Purpurea'
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so cold that plants are turning purple
The cold weather is coaxing some fine seasonal coloration out of plants, especially those whose names hint to a destiny with the color purple anyway. Acacia baileyana ‘Purpurea’ deeply plummy mid ribs on the leaves of Melianthus ‘Purple Haze’ Yucca … Continue reading
Posted in Occasional Daily Weather Report, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, succulents
Tagged "Umbrella Group: why not make room for a Schefflera?" by Robbie Blackhall-Miles, Acacia baileyana 'Purpurea', Crug Farm Plants, hardy scheffleras, Melianthus 'Purple Haze', Yucca aloifolia 'Purpurea'
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history of my garden, part VIII
I decided last year that I needed to break up the big border that covers most of the back garden and carve a narrow, oblique path through part of it. Nothing formal and really just an access path, curving probably … Continue reading
Posted in garden visit, journal, Plant Portraits, succulents
Tagged Coprosma 'Plum Hussy', Crassula perforata, dry-laid bricks, Dymondia margaretae, Echeveria agavoides, Geranium maderense 'Alba', Magnolia liliflora 'Nigra', paths, Paving, Plectranthus neochilus, Salvia canariensis var. candissima
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enter the dragons
What they say about good bones for faces and houses applies to gardens too. Good bones will see you through some tough times. I’ve posted just a couple photos on this sweet little house and garden before. The front facade … Continue reading
blooming kalanchoes
Leaves, leaves, extravagantly shaped, juicy leaves. It’s all about the leaves with succulents. Or is it? There are a couple kalanchoes in bloom now I’ve been noticing around town, Kalanchoe luciae with striking vertical spires, and Kalanchoe orgyalis, with lime … Continue reading
the awkward age
My garden has lived through lots of them and will most likely continue to do so while I’m in charge. The latest awkward age involves a flowering agave and a young tree. Or maybe it will be a shrub. Neither … Continue reading
Bloom Day November 2013
By November my garden has turned into a curiosity shop of oddities and seedpods. Like the racks of antler-like blooms on tetrapanax, seemingly more blooms than leaves this years after I clipped away some of the sunburnt foliage. Limbing it … Continue reading
November garden dispatches
We all have our favorite months in the garden. Our sentiments aside, the November garden continues sending out dispatches, oblivious to any seasonal bias. dispatches from plectranthus tillandsias and cryptbergias urgent communications from Echeveria gigantea Candy-corn-colored Morse code from Mina … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden visit, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged aeoniums, Agave 'Blue Flame', Agave 'Mr. Ripple', Agave desmettiana 'Joe Hoak', Agave geminiflora, Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor', Corokia virgata 'Sunsplash', Echeveria gigantea, Mina lobata
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chasing muhly grass
As far as seasons go, to me summer is rich, pungent, dense, where autumn is quicksilver, vaporous, light on its feet, with a tartness that is the perfect apertif to summer’s gluttony of sensation. The eaves are now dripping morning … Continue reading
Posted in climate, Occasional Daily Weather Report, Plant Portraits, succulents
Tagged Muhlenbergia capillaris, wildflowers
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