Category Archives: climate
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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hillside with Schwentker Watts Design
I was in a wonderful garden the other night, but was caught flat-footed as far as having any photos to show for it. Although only 7:30ish, twilight doesn’t last long in this Los Angeles neighborhood but is quickly swallowed up … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, climate, design, garden visit, MB Maher, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Bocconia arborea, Cupressus macrocarpa 'Citriodora', Franco-Giacomo Carbone, Harvey Watts, James Schwentker, landscape architecture, Los Angeles, MB Maher, mediterranean climate, Schwentker Watts Design, Silverlake, The Los Angeles Times
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warm thoughts on formal gardens
Have I mentioned how hot it’s been lately? It’s the kind of heat that gives a boho plant nut a deeper appreciation of the cool, austere lines of a formal garden. A garden built not on the scaffolding of flowers … Continue reading
September and its discontents
Every September I’m startled by the heat this month brings. A heat that, if you’re not careful, can wick away inspiration. But then that’s what photos like this are for. Image found here At least two more months to go … Continue reading
the first summer dahlias and a freakish summer rain
I moved the dahlias to the community garden this year and am so very glad I did. Just as in my own small home garden last year, the plant is a sprawling mess, but now I don’t have to look … Continue reading
the disappearance of summer lawns
Lawns are vanishing all over town. The chief ringleader and instigator is the Long Beach Water Department, with their irresistible Lawn-to-Garden Turf Replacement Program. Quite a few of my neighbors have already taken advantage of this program the past couple … Continue reading
Posted in climate, design, driveby gardens, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Achillea "Moonshine', Anigozanthos, architects Abramsom Teiger, Baja spurge, Calandrinia spectabilis, California, Euphorbia xanti, Gomphrena decumbens, Joni Mitchell's Hissing of Summer Lawns, Lawn-to-Garden garden tour 2013, Lawn-to-Garden Turf Replacement Program, Long Beach, Long Beach Water Department, mediterranean climate, nepeta, Pittosporum tenuifolium, Russelia equisetiformis, Salvia chamaedryoides, Senecio mandraliscae, Senecio vitalis, Stipa tenuissima, Teucrium azureum, Verbena 'Homestead Purple', Verbena lilacina
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Horticultural Mash Notes from the Middle of the World
Zone 10, 32 degrees latitude, to be exact. Have been reading this fall many blogs of brave gardeners in cold climes putting a cheerful face on the impending winter, asserting that gardens and gardeners need a rest anyway. This may … Continue reading