Category Archives: design

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Posted on December 19, 2012 by Denise

Don’t laugh, but it was cold, relatively speaking, in Los Angeles yesterday. Last night was down into the low 40’s. Marty and I took the Metro up to the ArcLight in Hollywood to see Hyde Park on Hudson, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in design | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

driveby gardens 12/17/12; studies in textures

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Denise

It’s been chronically drizzly the past few days, perfect weather for thinning and transplanting some broccoli rabe seedlings at my community garden plot. On the drive home I slowed for some interesting front gardens of contrasting character, some shrubby, some … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, driveby gardens, garden visit, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

High Line in late November 2012

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Denise

Must I really squeeze in one more post on the High Line in 2012? Have we become bored and cynical already about this dream of a garden on an abandoned railway trestle made real against seemingly insurmountable odds? (Yes to … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden travel, garden visit, MB Maher | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

plant this book

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Denise

With apologies to Abbie Hoffman (’60s radical and author of counterculture best-seller Steal this Book) Via Desire to Inspire Literally, sheet mulching for the bookish set. Scanning my book shelves, I just can’t come up with a book to sacrifice. … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden ornament, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Plant portrait; Agave attenuata and St. Augustine grass

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Denise

Clean, bright simplicity. Agave attenuata underplanted with variegated St. Augustine grass, by garden designer Dustin Gimbel. This tough, subtropical grass works beautifully in holding this slope, and is allowed to grow long and shaggy or clipped and tidy, according to … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

staining concrete

Posted on November 24, 2012 by Denise

One of the more excruciating projects this past summer involved the tiled patio on the east side of the house, photo taken 10/3/10. The indoor tile left over from a friend’s DIY project was a mistake the day we laid … Continue reading →

Posted in Department of Instruction, design, shop talk | Tagged , | 9 Comments

agaves en masse

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Denise

This was one of those days when I could have used an I Brake For Agaves bumper sticker. Every town in every climate has its repertoire of plants suitable for massing in civic spaces, roadsides, road medians. Here in my … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, driveby gardens, succulents | Tagged | 9 Comments

shadowplay

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Denise

Some startling effects can be had from shadows in the garden, like the mirror-image pattern this egg-shaped wire cage and the tillandsia within make against an east-facing wall in the morning sun. Too ephemeral an effect to pursue perhaps? One … Continue reading →

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Big Red Sun – Venice, California

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Denise
Posted in design, garden ornament, garden travel, plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

driveby garden 11/2/12

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Denise

Bicycling past this house a couple days ago, I made a hard U-turn to check out the swath of silvery groundcover running alongside the sidewalk underplanting a couple shrubs. It’s probably a variety of Gazania rigens. As an inveterate plant … Continue reading →

Posted in design, driveby gardens, succulents, The Hortorialist | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments