Category Archives: Plant Portraits
That Corsican Hellebore
I hope I’m not becoming too tiresome about this hellebore… I may have mentioned it four times in the past two months, but I just cannot say enough good things about Helleborus argutifolius, zoned 7-10. Some resources zone it even … Continue reading
Plants That Bear Watching
Every garden probably has a few. Not exactly weeds, but tending toward the weedy, yet something about them holds you in thrall. Keeping these plants in the garden is flirting with disaster, but still you just can’t break it off. … Continue reading
Lobelia tupa/Yo-Yo Gardening
I’ve been in a digging mood, which probably dates back to this draft of a post I wrote but never posted on December 28, 2010. A brief shower last Sunday has been the only rain since the December storms, and … Continue reading
Posted in Plant Portraits
Tagged Agave 'Blue Flame', Lobelia tupa, Mesogeo Gardens, Oxalis vulcanicola, The Patient Gardener
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The Ideal
I haven’t seen the movie ‘Black Swan’ yet, but sometimes I wonder if my own search for the ideal plant isn’t reminiscent of the exacting standards of ballet.
A Year of Euphorbias
Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’ is capable of an exceptionally long season in zone 10, basically year-round. And not just spitting out a few blooms, but flourishing. A cultivar of E. hypericifolia, it is a true perennial here in zone 10. Extremely … Continue reading
Friday, January 21, 2011
Today was a day of mathematical simplicity, nothing too complex. Like an abacus, disparate elements slid in and out of place, adding in then subtracting out throughout the day. Work lined up for the day cancelled. Subtraction. But being home, … Continue reading
Shocking Pink
Sometime during the night, the buds of Pelargonium echinatum unfolded their cerise petals. The next morning, the intensity of the color was a shock to eyes grown accustomed to the restrained colors of winter. Which is about the time I … Continue reading
For A Good Time, Ask For ‘Angelina’
Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’ is almost unforgivably easy. But when something fast and aggressive is needed for experimenting with planting some concrete columns, there’s no better choice. Besides, three big handfuls could be taken from the mother plant without the garden … Continue reading
Storm Damage/The Politics of Eucalyptus
The recent heavy rains in Southern California brought down a half dozen or so eucalyptus at a local park. A spectacular sight but not all that unusual. The gum trees are notorious for dropping branches and sometimes heaving out of … Continue reading
Posted in Plant Portraits, The Hortorialist
Tagged Acacia cultriformis, alleopathy, eucalyptus, Eucalyptus gunnii, Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp. debeuzeville, Gardens Illustrated, knife-leaf acacia, Palmengarten Frankfurt, Robert Santos "The Eucalpytus of California", tree damage, Ursula McHardy
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Under Oxalis
Sweeping up this morning’s clippings, the crimson reverse of Oxalis vulcanicola’s leaves released a startling infusion of color into the silver dustpan. This frost-tender “Volcanic sorrel” retreats almost to its crown in the heat and relative dryness of summer, just … Continue reading