Category Archives: Plant Portraits
Plug & Play
I briefly escaped the desk yesterday and checked out a couple local nurseries. Fall is when some interesting plants start to appear again in Southern California nurseries, for planting in the cooler temps, to be settled in by winter rains. … Continue reading
Anemone japonica in Southern California
A rare sight in Southern California. There’s a garden on a bluff near a popular dog walking spot that has big, established clumps of this anemone blooming in fall, along with giant stands of Romneya coulteri, the Matilija poppy, in … Continue reading
Posted in MB Maher, Plant Portraits
Tagged Anemone japonica, Battery Park NYC, Beverly Hills, Piet Oudolf, Southern California
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Foliage Follow-Up September 2011
I just noticed today that seedpods had formed on the little manihot tree. M. grahamii is hardier (zone 7b-10) than M. esculenta, which is grown for its starchy, edible tubers, with a possible future in biofuel. The Melianthus ‘Purple Haze’ … Continue reading
Bloom Day September 2011
No use in dancing around the fact that my Bloom Day posts can be a bit repetitive. Seems it’s the same cast of characters every month. But if you’re in zone 10 and lack the space for big herbaceous drifts … Continue reading
Posted in Bloom Day, Plant Portraits
Tagged ' Amicia zygomeris, Anigozanthos 'Yellow Gem', Athanasia acerosa, Crithmum maritimum, Dahlia 'Chat Noire', Echium gentianoides 'Tajinaste', Leycesteria formosa 'Golden Lanterns', Limonium peregrinum, Mirabilis jalapa 'Limelight', Rose 'Bouquet d'Or', Russelia equisetiformis, Salvia 'wendy's Wish', Teucrium 'Fairy Dust'
8 Comments
Grace Notes
I hadn’t noticed until last night that Bulbine frutescens was blooming again among the fallen seedheads of grasses and dyckia. Amazing how the outlines of plants can clarify a mood I’ve been in. I was just writing to my brother … Continue reading
Dahlia ‘Chat Noir’
I’m fairly certain now that the identity of the one and only dahlia I’m growing this summer is ‘Chat Noir.’ September’s heat has really kicked it into gear. Some additional support was added a couple days ago. Otherwise, as far … Continue reading
Garden Puzzles
Working with a small garden can be a bit of a puzzle. This powder blue Agave potatorum, or ‘butterfly’ agave, was planted a couple years ago deep in the recesses of the gravel garden, much too out of the way … Continue reading
Chasing Plants
Post-Internet I’ve noticed plant desire has turned into a thinner and weaker strain now that it’s so easily satisfied. The really big desire, the kind that used to build up unrequited for years and years, is as analog as a … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden travel, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Annies Annuals, Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum', Cistus Nursery, Digging Dog Nursery, Mathiasella bupleuroides, Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden, Mildred Mathias, San Marcos Growers, The Dry Garden North Oakland, Yucca aloifolia 'Blue Boy', Yucca aloifolia 'Purpurea'
5 Comments
Occasional Daily Photo 9/3/11
Asteeelia, you’re breaking my heart… But only because you’re so constantly, shimmeringly gorgeous. Ever-gorgeous is what you are. Allow me to sing your praises. This large pot of Astelia chathamica ‘Silver Spear’ has sat in the center of the back … Continue reading
Bulletproof (I Wish It Was…)
Eccremocarpus scaber, Chilean Glory Flower. Allegedly a rambunctious annual vine, possibly perennial in my zone 10. Usually characterized as a vine to cover sheds and vast expanses of unsightly fence. In other words, bulletproof. Image from Jungle Seeds “Blooms early … Continue reading
Posted in Plant Portraits
Tagged Bulletproof...I Wish I Was, Chilean Glory Flower, Eccremocarpus scaber, Radiohead
3 Comments