Category Archives: succulents
what Dustin Gimbel does with gazanias
The humble gazania, that kaleidoscopic daisy from South Africa overused in years past as the go-to municipal ground cover, is undergoing a minor local revival. I included a few for this summer in my full-sun back garden, the LA Times … Continue reading
day trip to Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Garden
It’s pushing the concept of a day trip to its limit when it takes five hours each way, there and back, but the DBG was having their spring plant sale and, dammit, I needed to go. So the math worked … Continue reading
Echeveria ‘Opal Moon’
I always check the succulent tables at plant nurseries for something new and/or bizarre, but the offerings have been much the same so far this year. Once the eye has been well-trained on the familiar, whenever something unfamiliar pops up, … Continue reading
Jardin Majorelle, Morocco
What I know about Yves Saint Laurent, the fashion designer, as opposed to his enormous, well-known cultural celebrity, is limited to sewing up some of his “rich peasant” and stunning Russian collection designs off of Vogue patterns in high school. … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, design, garden travel, garden visit, MB Maher, Plant Portraits, succulents
Tagged bleu Majorelle, Fondation Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent, general director Jardin Majorelle, Hugh Johnson, Hugh Johnson's The Principles of Gardening, Jacques Majorelle, Jardin Majorelle, Madison Cox, Marrakesh, Morocco, Robert Pogue Harrison, Suzy Menkes, The Principles of Gardening
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back in the garden
I’ve still got a big cosmic hangover from visiting the California Science Center last week. “Hubble 3-D” was at the IMAX theater. My brain was not built for IMAX movies, so what with the 3-D glasses and sitting too close … Continue reading
the buzz on plants
Got home from work yesterday and was still in the process of dropping all my gear off in the office, when the first person to greet me did so briefly then in quick order uttered those anxiety-making words: “I’ve got … Continue reading
Posted in creatures, Plant Portraits, succulents
Tagged bees, Eddie Izzard, Euphorbia rigida, Sedum nussbaumerianum
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beauty’s best bargain
for me will always be plants. 401ks and SEPs may crash and burn, but I’ll always be able to live on the cheap surrounded by some of the most gorgeous patterns and shapes on earth. Some of the results from … Continue reading
Bloom Day February 2013
I admit I’m a vulgarian, if there was any doubt left. By February I’m starved for brash and garish, even though it violates the subtle order of nature that has spring unfolding with a delicacy that builds by degrees to … Continue reading
exploring a coastal garden with Lili Singer
This Pacific Palisades garden was the final garden we visited 1/24/13 with Lili Singer via the LA County Arboretum Thursday Garden Talk series. Despite being firmly in the grasp of winter this January morning, or as firm a grasp on … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, driveby gardens, garden ornament, garden travel, garden visit, MB Maher, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Big Daddy's Antiques, Daniel Hinkley, Fleur Nooyen and Associates, formal gardens, garden designer Fleur Nooyen, garden designer Joel Lichtenwalter, garden designer Richard Hayden, garden designer Ryan Gates, Graptopetalum paraguayense, Grow Outdoor Design, Hayden Landscape Design, Irving Gill, Leucadendron ‘Wilson’s Wonder’, Lili Singer, Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Mediterranean gardens, Solandra maxima
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Occasional Daily Photo 2/12/13
I just potted the Pelargonium echinatum into this chipped Bauer pot inherited from my grandmother. A chipped Bauer pot ceases to be a sacred cow and can definitely mix it up with the other garden pots. Just took me a … Continue reading