Category Archives: Plant Portraits
Monkey Business
The monkey flower planted into the ground has clambered up into the arms of a potted helichrysum. I like promoting such intimate relationships between the grounded and the potted. The mimulus thrives in the slightly heavy clay of the garden. … Continue reading
June 2010 Bloom Day
A 2-year-old mossed basket with sedums, agave, and oregano ‘Kent Beauty.’ I was surprised to see the oregano return this year. Life in a mossed basket can be rough. The urns of arctoctis. Hopefully, the next time I replant the … Continue reading
Posted in Bloom Day, Plant Portraits
Tagged ' Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow', Atriplex hortensis, Bloom Day, Buddleia 'Silver Anniversary', Calindrinia spectabilis, Catanache caerulea, crocosmia, Cupid's Dart, Diascia 'Ice Cracker', Gaillardia 'Oranges & Lemons', heliotrope, kniphofia, Libertia peregrinans, Lysimachia atropurpurea, May Dreams Gardens, Mirabilis jalapa, Oreganum 'Kent Beauty', phygelius, purple orach, Rehmannia elata 'Snow Glow', Salvia 'Waverly', Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain', Senecio rowleyanus, String of Pearls, Trachelium caeruleum, Verbena bonariensis
10 Comments
So I Go Out To Buy A Hosta
…and come home with an astelia. Astelia banksii. Hostas intrigue me because, in Zone 10 gardening manuals, they can reliably be found under the entry “When Pigs Can Fly.” Yet there’s always a few for sale at nurseries in spring, … Continue reading
Photo Dump
Not an elegant title, bordering on the indelicate, but that’s about all I can manage on Wednesday, just some shots from the past few days. Begonia ‘Bonfire’ and aeoniums. I was thrilled to carry this begonia over the winter, the … Continue reading
Posted in Plant Portraits, succulents
Tagged ' Salvia 'Waverly' solanums, aeonium, Begonia 'Bonfire
4 Comments
Dendromecon harfordii (David’s Catalina Tree Poppy)
Driving by, I slow down to shout at David, who’s laying a recycled concrete paver/DG (decomposed granite) path in the front yard. Don’t you love neighbors who drive by slowly and shout at you while you’re hard at work? I’ve … Continue reading
Laughter in the Distance
Not a title to a pulpy romance novel but a snippet of Hinkley’s hilarious prose from his infamous Heronswood nursery catalogues. (The nursery was opened in 1987, bought by Burpee in 2000 and closed by them in 2006.) The catalogues … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, essay, Plant Portraits
Tagged Begonia grandis, Ceanothus thrysiflorus var. griseus 'Kurt Zadnik, Clematis recta, Dan Hinkley, Embothrium coccineum, Garden Cottage Nursery, Heronswood, Melianthus 'Purple Haze', Monrovia, Olearia 'Henry Travers', restios, Rhodocoma capensis, Roger Raiche, Roger's Gardens, Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain', Stiga gigantea, Vita Sackville-West, Windcliff
6 Comments
Mergers & Acquisitions
If nature abhors a vacuum, then I am nature’s willing handmaiden. By late May, the garden is stuffed, bursting at the seams like this potted Euphorbia tirucalli. Echevarias and sedums tucked into every available spot. Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’ filling in … Continue reading
Posted in essay, Plant Portraits, succulents
Tagged 1970 Volkswagen bus, Atriplex hortensis, Debra Lee Baldwin, Ein the wonder corgi, Euphorbia rigida, Euphorbia tirucalli, Heuchera 'Southern Comfort', plant nurseries, Polygonum orientale, Roger's Gardens, Sticks on Fire, succulents, Teucrium 'Fairy Duster', Verbena bonariensis
6 Comments
Small Moves
“Small moves, Ellie.” No, I didn’t read the book Contact by Carl Sagan but am quoting from the movie, where Jodie Foster as Dr. Ellie Arroway is advised as a child by her father to take it slow when scanning … Continue reading
The Angelic Ones
I’m so glad I planted this Angelica stricta ‘Purpurea’ (from Annie’s Annuals, of course) in a pot rather than dooming another angelica by trialing it in the garden. I’m not completely convinced the problem was soil (amended clay) but more … Continue reading
May Bloom Day
May is a heady month for gardens. Check them out at Carol’s host site for Bloom Day, May Dreams Gardens. The pale lavender heliotrope is responding to longer and warmer days, sprawling over Oxalis vulcanicola, both perennial in zone 10. … Continue reading
Posted in Plant Portraits
Tagged Bloom Day, Calandrinia spectabilis, Calceolaria 'Kentish Hero', Canna 'Intrigue', cineraria, Lespedeza thunbergii, Lophomyrtus ralphii 'Red Dragon', Lysimachia purpurea, May Dreams Gardens, Mirabilis jalapa, Oxalis vulcanicola, Rose 'Bouquet d'Or', Salvia 'Waverly', Salvia chiapensis, Senecio stellata, Solanum rantonnetii, Tanacetum vulgare 'Isla Gold', Teucrium fruticans azureum
2 Comments