Category Archives: agaves, woody lilies

blogger meetup at the Huntington

I should have talked less and picked up the camera more at the meetup this past Saturday at the Huntington Botanical Garden, but that wouldn’t have been as much fun as our nonstop gabfest. The occasion for the meetup was … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden travel, garden visit, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

streetside succulent garden

Some lucky neighborhoods have stimulating examples to study of successful front gardens made without a blade of lawn. This example is in my hometown, Long Beach, Calif, coastal zone 10, western exposure, December 2015, drought-stricken, irrigation restrictions imposed since last … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, driveby gardens, succulents | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments

commercial landscape

Some commercial and business office plantings are really stepping up their game. Here’s another example of good plantsmanship I’m seeing around town. Nicely done, I think. Ribbons of succulents along stone walkways, arbutus, olives, furcraea embedded in blankets of westringia. … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, succulents | 5 Comments

some dry garden plants

When I planted this slipper plant (Pedilanthus bracteatus, from Mexico) into the back garden last October, I knew that it would necessarily change the character of the plantings surrrounding it. Everything would have to become even more dry tolerant. For … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Wednesday vignette

A couple of loose ideas came together this morning in a slowburn, sleepy kind of way. I’ve been envious of large stands of Agave attenuata around town, wishing I could grab a crown for dramatic inclusion in a large vase, … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, cut flowers, pots and containers | Tagged | 9 Comments

San Gabriel Valley CSS Show & Sale

I treated myself yesterday to San Gabriel Valley’s Cactus & Succulent Society‘s show and sale at the Los Angeles Arboretum. I bought no plants this time, just circled the show tables over and over, sometimes because the show plant was … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Greenlee Meadow Grass Fall Festival 2015

Fall has been stupidly busy, but I’m so glad I made it out to Pomona last Saturday for John Greenlee’s Meadow Grass Fall Festival, the second year it’s been held. Let’s cross our grubby, fall-planting fingers and hope for another … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, plant nurseries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

gardens without borders

This corner of my small, jam-packed garden is where it gets crazy. Okay, okay. Crazier. This east end of the garden kind of horseshoes around this collection of containers, with the main sitting area (and more containers) off to the … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

signs of fall

Fall doesn’t announce itself ceremoniously draped in dramatic curtains of crimson and gold. We’re a little, ahem, minimalist and understated here in Southern California as far as seasonal transitions. But there are many autumnal similarities we share. Like everyone in … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Bloom Day September 2015

Since I’m already running a day late for the Bloom Day reports collected by May Dreams Gardens on the 15th of every month, I’ll try to limit the repetition. September pretty much mirrors August, but here’s a couple oddballs, a … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bloom Day | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments