Category Archives: Plant Portraits
Laurus nobilis ‘Aureus’
A potted bay tree is one of those timeless mediterranean garden features, like boxwood hedging, crunchy gravel underfoot, or urns planted with agaves. Image found here. Its leaves are useful for cooking just about anything that simmers. Laurus nobilis becomes … Continue reading
Aerial Fizz
Thanks to the late plantsman and artist Kevin Nicolay for this phrase he coined to describe plants that possess elongated fireworks of some kind, whether seed capsule or flower. I think it originates from an interview with Kevin in Horticulture … Continue reading
Occasional Daily Photo 5/21/11
Some new things in bloom I woke up to this morning. Viscaria oculata from Annie’s Annuals. I grew this annual from seed many years ago. It’s amazing good fortune to have a nursery do all that work and offer up … Continue reading
Foliage Follow-Up May 2011
Excitement builds as this aralia shows signs of life. Aralia cordata ‘Sun King,’ slightly bug-eaten, from Plant Delights, planted fall 2010. I’ve been hovering over this one, coddling it, schlepping gallons of water to it in the very back of … Continue reading
Summer Containers Aren’t Just For Annuals
I would’ve never been able to get this angelica to bloom in the garden. Trust me, I’ve tried. Rich soil, consistent moisture, strategic sun exposure, these crucial conditions could only be offered in a container. Angelica stricta ‘Purpurea’ was planted … Continue reading
Posted in Plant Portraits, pots and containers
Tagged Angelica stricta 'Purpurea', biennials
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Asarina
Asarina scandens. What a kewpie-doll mouth. I love watching how the blooms trace along the ropey stems, scrolling intriguing outlines. See the letter “E”? A trove of inspiration for a jewelry designer. A galloping vine, wending its way this summer … Continue reading
Kalanchoe luciae ‘Fantastic’
Yes, I finally succumbed to the newest incarnation of the paddle plant/flapjacks plant, Kalanchoe thyrsiflora, a flashy variegated variety that’s actually a cultivar of K. luciae. I first saw this succulent a few months ago, in January, at the Terra … Continue reading
Echium gentianoides ‘Tajinaste’
Last time I wrote about this echium was for a March Bloom Day post, cursing myself for having transplanted it while it was just beginning to show flower buds. I am now relieved to report it has made a full … Continue reading
Wispy Spring Annuals
Along with the linaria I mentioned recently, some of the other wispy spring annuals I’ve been experimenting with in pots are this Anagallis. A. monelii, the Blue Pimpernel. And a little nemesia with long spurs, N. cheiranthus ‘Shooting Stars.’ The … Continue reading
Warming Up
Edging into the high 80’s the next couple days here at the coast, about a mile from the Pacific, in the 90’s for the inland cities like Pasadena. The castor bean plant and Salvia canariensis are reveling in the heat, … Continue reading