Category Archives: agaves, woody lilies
The Shuffle
The annual summer pot shuffle. Which pots shall be plucked from the margins and take pride of place, beautiful specimens of their kind? Every summer brings a different answer. This Agave parryi’s spikes are kept well out of corgi eye … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden ornament, succulents
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On A Misty May Morning
Heavy mist, almost a full-blown drizzle. This has been one long, cool spring, with rain forecast for the weekend. Unheard of for May! Carex and Echevaria nodulosa Agave impressa, brought home from the Huntington Botanic Garden’s plant sale over the … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies
Tagged Agave 'Mr. Ripple', Agave impressa, Carex glauca, Echevaria nodulosa, lespedeza
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At the Garden Show/Mall
The show was held in an Orange County mall, the South Coast Plaza. If retail therapy is your thing, this mall is the Dr. Freud’s couch of retail therapy. Yves St. Laurent, Tiffany’s, Dolce Gabana, etc. The garden show seemed … Continue reading
Agave ‘Kissho Kan’
Dwarf Variegated Butterfly Agave. Slow-growing to only a foot. Translation “Happy crown” or “Lucky crown” On the West Coast, these formerly pricy, collectible agaves are really dropping in price. If I see one in a 4-inch pot, I swoop. I … Continue reading
Calandrinia spectabilis
On the Agave Walk this cerise Chilean showoff opens its first flower of spring. Zone 8-10. The calandrinia sprawls onto the Agave Walk and is cut back by half to allow foot traffic. Even with this heavy-handed treatment it flowers … Continue reading
Boundaries
I’m constantly accused of not respecting boundaries, of letting plants take over spaces which some people feel should properly remain under the control of humans and not the plant kingdom. That a sight which gladdens my heart, a pathway seeded … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, MB Maher
Tagged Agave 'Mr. Ripple', Agave salmiana, MB Maher, Papaver rupifragum
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Waking Up to White
Sometimes I seem to be sleepwalking when planning the garden. For example, how could I not have noticed this build-up of white-flowering plants? White valerian, agrostemma, diascia, Geranium maderense, arctotis, gaura, foxgloves. True, it surprised me this morning doing a … Continue reading
Overheard in the Garden
Me: Come see what I’ve done! Him: (standing on porch, looking blankly at radically transformed garden) Just tell me. Me: You’re kidding, right? Can’t you tell? Him: (squints, nervously shifts weight from one foot to the other.) Me: Well, for … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Ephemera, garden ornament
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Call Me Mr. Agave
(Also answers to “Big Blue”) Note the congestion of pups destroying his fine lines. The vigor of an Agave americana is an awesome thing to behold and has been known to rupture any pot that dares contain it. Said vigor … Continue reading
Foliage Followup (and other digressions)
The answer to Bloom Day, the 15th of every month, is the Foliage Follow-up, the brainchild of Pam Pennick of the excellent blog Digging, whose garden has endured both record high temps in summer and now record low temps this … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Plant Portraits
Tagged Bloom Day, Coprosma 'County Park Red', Gordon Willis, Hebe 'Quicksilver', Hellebore argutifolius, Libertia peregrinans, Linaria reticulata 'Flamenco', Lophomyrtus x ralphii 'Red Dragon', Orlaya grandiflora, Oxalis spiralis, Prostanthera ovalifolia, Salvia chiapensis, Sedum nussbaumerianum, x Fatshedera lizei
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