Category Archives: design

Dairy Creek Meadows June 2026

Posted on September 7, 2026 by Denise

A couple of the gardens I’ve visited through the HPSO Open Gardens program this summer involved the owners’ experimenting with a naturalistic planting style as they gained more space to garden. Sometimes called the New Naturalism or the New Perennial … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden visit, Oregon garden | 7 Comments

Presidio Tunnel Tops

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Denise

I first heard of what has come to be known as the Presidio Tunnel Tops in 2015, when visiting landscape architect Rania Reyes mentioned her involvement in a new Presidio Parklands Project in San Francisco. Rania was being given a … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden travel, garden visit, MB Maher, succulents | 9 Comments

thoughts while strolling a local dahlia grower’s field

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Denise

On a visit to a local dahlia grower’s field in August, I find the range of flower shapes and colors head spinning. Apart from the variety of shapes and sizes, what amazes me is the range of color on offer … Continue reading →

Posted in commerce, cut flowers, design | 6 Comments

“garden for fire”

Posted on February 17, 2025 by Denise

This piece appeared in the Opinion section of the Los Angeles Times February 13, 2025, by historian and landscape designer Wade Graham under the title: “Do more than clear brush. Garden for fire.” I wrote to the author asking for … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, design | 3 Comments

a brief but well-timed visit to the Disney Concert Hall garden

Posted on February 12, 2025 by Denise

Sometimes I take the Metro train from Long Beach to visit family near Downtown Los Angeles. Yesterday Mitch and his daughter Domino picked me up at the usual stop on Grand Avenue, and we explored the Broad Art Musem and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bulbs, design, garden visit, MB Maher | 4 Comments

rainy day thoughts on fences

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Denise

Having inherited a boundary fence in the back garden, I think about it quite a bit. It’s been an insistent presence since we moved in, devoid as the space was of anything but fence, grass and bark mulch. Fences in … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, design, Oregon garden | 8 Comments

late but great

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Denise

Some of the feelings about my late summer/fall garden this year can be broken down into two categories: 1) What took you so long? and 2) Wow, you look so fresh! I’ve been both irritated by tardiness and appreciative of … Continue reading →

Posted in design, journal, Oregon garden, Plant Portraits | 8 Comments

a visit to the Vetter garden

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Denise

I’ve been religiously checking the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon’s Open Gardens schedule to see what lines up with my own schedule for the approximate 2-hour drive from the coast over the Coast Range to Portland. And there were a … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden visit, Oregon garden, pots and containers | 5 Comments

Little Island

Posted on September 4, 2021 by Denise

There is a new waterfront reclamation project in New York City that will take some heat off the 12-year-old High Line as the punching bag for unintended urban renewal consequences. The old elevated railway reimagined by James Corner for plants, … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden visit, MB Maher | 10 Comments

the path not taken (August fidgets)

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Denise

There are as many ways and reasons to design a garden as their are gardeners — but Im with Billie. Its all about the feet (and paws). I love to play with the varying scale that moving through a garden … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, journal, pots and containers, succulents | 7 Comments