Category Archives: climate
beyond the lawn; notes on 2016 LA Garden Conservancy Open Days
Since the 5/7/16 tour, Gov. Jerry Brown surprised us all by announcing that mandatory water restrictions are now suspended except for agriculture. Water use policies will revert back to the local level. So pat yourself on the back for enduring … Continue reading
Greater Los Angeles APLD GardenTour 4/17/16
On the tour: A garden designed by Joel Lichtenwalter and Ryan Gates of Grow Outdoor Design embodies the tour’s theme: “The Watershed Approach to Landscape Design” photo by MB Maher The garden I posted about here in 2013 will be … Continue reading
Posted in climate, design, garden visit
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winter shadow
Winter light and winter shadows naturally fill my thoughts this time of year. This marrubium is lucky to be in full sun all year. Some of the silvers are trapped during winter in a band of shade that descends on … Continue reading
planting details at the Reid garden
I went through my Reid garden photos again, looking for clear examples of the subtly layered plant communities that rose up around my feet as I followed the paths, scanning the garden like a hungry predator, looking down then quickly … Continue reading
Posted in books, climate, design, garden visit
Tagged "A Passionate Pursuit", American Conifer Society, Claudia West, dry garden planting, Leonotis leonurus, marthastewart.com, Mary and Lew Reid, Northern California, Pacific Horticulture, Planting in a Post-Wild World, Stipa gigantea, terraced gardens, Thomas Rainer, Tibouchina heteromala, Western Hills Nursery and Garden
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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 Around the World in 80 Gardens, Cactus and Succulent Society of America, cactus gardens, California gardens, Donald Culross Peattie, Geoff Stein, James Van Sweden, Lotusland, Madame Ganna Walska, March-April 2015 Cactus and Succulent Journal, Monty Don, Pauleen Sullivan, writer Catherine Phillips, Ysabel Wright's cactus garden Quien Sabe
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potted plants on the move
The summer containers in nondrought-stricken gardens can become quite a virtuoso display. I’ve understandably pared things down the past few years but am always amazed at how even a relatively small group of pots can exclaim “Summer!” All the pots … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, journal, pots and containers
Tagged Aeonium 'Cyclops', Agave 'Blue Flame', Chionanthus retusus, Corokia virgata 'Sunsplash', Cussonia spicata, Euphorbia ammak, Fortnam Gardens, Homecrest chairs, Los Angeles Harbor, Manihot esculenta 'Variegata', marine salvage, Maurizio Zucchi, MB Maher, Mina lobata, Potted's City Planter, Schefflera 'Amate Soleil', Shirley Watts, Streptosolen jamesonii, Warehouse No. 1, Xanthosoma 'Lime Zinger'
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notes on some spring plant sales
Is that a water pistol in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? I’ve been hearing from friends in the retail nursery business that the new water restrictions have them very worried. Indeed, I’ve been told retail … Continue reading
Posted in Bulbs, climate, design, garden travel, journal, pots and containers
Tagged botanical garden plant sales, Dierama pendulum var. robustum, Flora Grubb Gardens, Fullerton Arboretum Green Scene, Huntington Botanical Garden 2015 Plant Sale, Leucadendron argenteum, Leucadendron laxum, Plectranthus zuluensis, Protea neriifolia, Rudbeckia maxima, San Francisco Botanical Garden plant sale
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Fernando Caruncho’s Design Studio
Images from Architectural Digest of the design studio of the Spanish landscape architect who resolutely insists on being called a gardener. As with stripping down occupations to their mythic essence, Caruncho does the same for gardens, revealing anew the power … Continue reading
streetside; your own personal prairie
When my job canceled today, I knew exactly where I wanted to go before breakfast, before even the first cup of coffee. The local neighborhood prairie. It’s something you don’t see everyday in my coastal neighborhood in Los Angeles County, … Continue reading