Category Archives: essay
Fun with Fishhook Senecio
Some backstory, which begins improbably enough with tulips. The two plants would seem to have nothing whatsoever in common, but that’s the joy of backyard Frankensteinian horticultural experiments, where you’re mad scientist in chief. And if you get up early … Continue reading
Posted in essay, Plant Portraits
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The Subject Is Roses
Ever since I found a souvenir of a lost rose while digging last fall, I’ve intended to tease out my complex relationship with roses (aka blog about it.) The souvenir was the crumpled, muddied tag of the tea rose ‘Souvenir Pierre … Continue reading
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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
Dragging Gen X & Y Into the Garden
Interview on Nest in Style with Duane Kelly, recent buyer of the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, wherein he gives a detailed answer providing possible theories as to why Gen X & Y don’t seem so hot to take on … Continue reading
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The Trouble With Etsy
Yesterday morning, in the shower, I wondered if men were writing the code and starting up sites like Etsy, and if women were thereafter predominantly the ones selling their wares in this virtual bazaar. There’s no point to a lengthier … Continue reading
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Tagged Amelia McDonnell-Parry, craft, Etsy, handmade, Industrial Revolution, labor, Liza Lou, Slate Sara Mosle, Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
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Timing is Everything
in garden design. Really enjoyed the cyber garden summit on regionalism held last week, and found myself nodding along with comments by West Coast writers, such as the Germinatrix and Garden Porn, about being led down the primrose path by … Continue reading
Posted in design, essay
Tagged aloes, English gardens, Mediterranean gardens, poppies
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Grace Under Pressure
This is about as basic as it gets, squirting water out of a garden hose. Very inefficient and ineffective, yet I grab a hose practically every day, however briefly, to at least water the pots and new plantings. And as … Continue reading
Posted in essay, MB Maher
Tagged Cotinus 'Grace', Euphorbia ceratocarpa, irrigation, mediterranean climate
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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