Category Archives: journal
Wednesday’s plants
In the interest of keeping a better garden record…
(in anticipation of spring) cleanup
I asked Marty to drill drainage holes in this metal cart yesterday. Without drainage it was fairly useless, accumulating water and leaves and making a slimy brew of them all winter. When I returned home late in the afternoon, Marty … Continue reading
the garden stories we tell
It always amazes me how what was just hours before a scene of mayhem in the garden can look so calm and serene just a few moments after the mulch settles. Right where those little Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Beach Ball’ now … Continue reading
revisiting the class of July 2014; (where are they now?)
I love massing one kind of echeveria in pots and letting them multiply like crazy. Echeveria lilacina has completely filled in at the base of the shaving brush tree, Pseudobombax ellipticum. One E. liliacina in bloom is a novelty; over … Continue reading
White Point Nature Preserve; landscape interrupted
White Point Nature Preserve in San Pedro, CA is a remarkable gift of public open space nestled into 100 acres of bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It’s a landscape that visibly bears the marks of tumultuous human endeavors spanning at … Continue reading
more talk about plants
I’m blaming it on spring. A beautifully soft, mild spring. And that rainy winter certainly didn’t hurt in rebuilding confidence. New acquisitions are now unloaded from the back of the Mini at near weekly intervals. Amazingly, this little garden swallows … Continue reading
tuesday clippings 4/23/19
The pitcher plant Sarracenia ‘Scarlet Belle’ is sending out more flowers than leaves this spring. I have no idea if this is usual, unusual, a sign of imminent demise, or what exactly. But at least the pitcher plants made it … Continue reading
garden notes 3/20/19
Yesterday I removed the diseased carcass of Agave ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue’ which lived its brief but spectacular life – until this rainy winter – under the acacia tree in the far southeast corner. You’d think having to battle for resources … Continue reading
garden journal 11/3/18
The salvia order from Flowers by the Sea arrived early in the week in exceptional condition and has been potted up. Included in the order were the two above, Salvia discolor ‘Purple Bracts’ in the foreground, Salvia patens ‘Guanajuato’ in … Continue reading
garden notes 10/14/18
Bitter Cassava, Manihot esculenta ‘Variegata,’ waylaid me at the local nursery Friday while stocking up on potting soil. Just try walking by this. Not possible. Manihot grahamii, the hardy tapioca, always drops its leaves mid-winter, while the Bitter Cassava is … Continue reading