Category Archives: Ephemera
Snowmen and Poinsettia Trees
I bet my neighborhood is not unique in offering examples of a wide variety of garden styles. There is ample representation from the meticulous lawn-and-hedge contingent, a style that dovetails nicely into holiday decorating. Many argue that lawns, while not … Continue reading
Where Was The Sun?
One of those drizzly, grey days where one mumbles phrases from Conan Doyle’s The Musgrave Ritual: ‘Where was the sun?’ ‘Over the oak.’ ‘Where was the shadow?’ ‘Under the elm.’ Not a bad day to keep to the couch and … Continue reading
The Great Corgi Caper
Maybe your local newspaper was following this story. Possibly the breaking Wikileaks news edged it off the front page. Now that Bunny and Peter have been rescued, I can exhale and indulge in some flippancy, but make no mistake, for … Continue reading
Posted in Ephemera, succulents
Tagged AKC/Eukanuba National Championship, Aloe peglerae, corgi, Cowboy Bebop, Ein, Pembroke Welsh corgi, Peter and Bunny
3 Comments
Got Cranberries?
We stumbled into this sight, an impromptu cranberry bog, at Rockefeller Center this past October. Who on earth could be behind such a spectacle? Exquisitely appropriate seating for the occasion in the form of picnic tables and benches running down … Continue reading
Posted in Ephemera
Tagged Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish, Martha Stewart, New York, Rockefeller Center
4 Comments
Under A Big Tent
If I named my home at this moment, something I’ve been mulling over for a while, Hotel Chaotica would be a good fit. The big tent is coming next week under which death will be dealt to the termites chewing … Continue reading
Mixology in the Garden
A couple days ago a non-gardening member of the household burst through the screen door and out onto the porch and barked at me, “Grow me some cilantro!” I barked back, “Grow it yourself. The smell makes me retch. What … Continue reading
Good morning, tetrapanax
Everything gets to be dewy and succulent for a moment, however brief. And if you play it right, it’s just enough. (Barely.) But enough. (Happy weekend!)
A pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray
Elvis Costello does Penny Lane for his mum and the POTUS, filmed June 2, 2010, for PBS. I know I’m betraying both my age and a schmaltz streak a mile wide, but… this is lovely. Well done, Elvis. I was … Continue reading
Fungus Humongous
I found this neon-yellow eruption on a eucalyptus stump this morning. I swear it wasn’t there yesterday, but that doesn’t seem possible. I always stand on this stump, in the southeast corner of the back garden, to cut back the … Continue reading
The Rhythm of the Heat
The cannas are finally head-high, but it’s taken them a while in this very cool summer on the coast in Southern California. California is breaking records for cool temps, while record-breaking mostly everywhere else has been going in the other … Continue reading