Category Archives: journal
the agave’s gambit
What sets them apart is that they are monocarpic, they die after flowering once, and, they can take up to 30 years or better, depending on species and growing conditions, to flower…The demand for carbohydrate is high during this period. … Continue reading
swept away
Busy week, weather-wise, democracy-wise. There was a sweet piney scent to the air the morning of the 19th, which meant the wind had shifted and was coming from the east. I smelled it before checking the weather vane, which confirmed … Continue reading
clippings January 5, 2021
Happy New Year news: We’re waitlisted for a corgi puppy with an Oregon breeder! The arrangement seems nebulous at best, but it’s the closest we’ve come to envisioning life with another dog since Ein shared his life with us, our … Continue reading
Posted in clippings, journal
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Calendula ‘Touch of Red’
In Southern California, the cool-season annuals have arrived at local nurseries, the violas, stocks, snapdragons, sweet williams, nemesias, Iceland poppies, and lots more I’m forgetting at the moment. Some (or none) appeal to different garden temperaments. I’ve indulged in biennial … Continue reading
Posted in cut flowers, journal, plant nurseries, pots and containers
Tagged Calendula 'Touch of Red
10 Comments
reshuffling some garden standbys
I edit, thin, and prune the steady accumulation of curbside and flea market finds constantly, but there’s a few stalwarts that consistently defy the purges. This Los Angeles street lamp shade has been kicking around the garden for years and … Continue reading
late for Bloom Day 11/15/20
Mina lobata is late too. The Spanish Flag vine was sown at least by June — okay, I just checked the seed packet and it was sown 6/25/20. So what’s up with waiting to bloom until November? The questions never … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bloom Day, journal, pots and containers, succulents
8 Comments
privacy issues (or what kept me busy Election Week 2020)
And so the lemon cypresses (Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Citriodora’ or Golden Monterey Cypress) came down last Sunday, November 1st. I couldn’t bear to watch the removal of the last two and hid out in the office. They were excellent privacy screens … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, pots and containers, succulents
10 Comments
Celosia argentea ‘Cramer’s Amazon’
There’s been a couple of standout plants new to my garden this year, and this vibrant celosia is emphatically one of them. From Annie’s Annuals & Perennials, it was planted from 4-inch pots in August and grew steadily, like it … Continue reading
Posted in journal, Plant Portraits, succulents
6 Comments
refocusing on succulents
More notes on micro-moves in my small back garden, mostly having to do with a succulent-forward mindset for fall/winter here in zone 10. If you scroll down to the previous post, where I mention having to move an aloe because … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, pots and containers, succulents
9 Comments
october already
Somehow, what the low angled light of October does to grasses always catches me by surprise. I caught this peripheral shimmer on the way to the office yesterday morning, turned to find the source and gasped. Of course it’s one … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, Plant Portraits, plant sales
5 Comments