Category Archives: plant nurseries

shopping for phlomis at Windcliff

“What looks good when the garden is just starting to stir in April? In my garden, in one word, phlomis. Unscathed, fully clothed, holding it together all winter. I didn’t expect phlomis could deal with this much rain, hail and snow, … Continue reading

Posted in garden travel, garden visit, Oregon garden, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits | 13 Comments

Flora Grubb Takes on LA

Memorial Day Weekend was the official launch of Flora Grubb Gardens’ new location in Los Angeles. When I heard Mitch was going to take advantage of the opening 20% sale, I pleaded for a few photos. With the recent closing … Continue reading

Posted in MB Maher, plant nurseries | 4 Comments

new garden update

about the soil: “The Tillamook Series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils formed in mixed alluvium on stream terraces. Slopes are 0 to 15 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 90 inches and the mean annual temperature … Continue reading

Posted in climate, garden travel, garden visit, journal, plant nurseries | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

APLD Plant Fair 10/2/21 at LA Arboretum

The Los Angeles chapter of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers puts on a helluva fall plant fair, and against some impressive odds they have managed to deliver another one for 2021 on October 2nd. And hooray for autumn plant … Continue reading

Posted in plant nurseries, plant sales, shop talk | 9 Comments

dwarf statice and what else is new in June

The dwarf statice, Limonium minutum, are new this June. Planted along the spine of rocks laid down last November, their tight cushions send out slender stems that branch upward to hold aloft sparkling clouds of everlasting blooms, creating a gauzy … Continue reading

Posted in journal, plant crushes, plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents | 11 Comments

lilies again (and time to order tulips!)

Here in dry frost-free zone 10b, grow lilies in containers. That’s what I’ve been admonishing myself for years. And that’s what I’ve been doing, without much noticeable benefit, because the bulbs rarely return a second year whether in the ground … Continue reading

Posted in Bulbs, journal, plant nurseries, pots and containers | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Green Touch Nursery fills a void with plant fairs

Oscar and family are growing the local cactus and succulent community one plant fair at a time on the grounds of his Green Touch Nursery in Bellflower, Calif. And why not? They’ve got the space and, most importantly, the can-do … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, plant nurseries, plant sales, pots and containers, succulents | 5 Comments

Worldwide Exotics Nursery

It was that article in the Los Angeles Times sometime in the ’90s, accompanied by a photo of Gary Hammer crouched in a rock crevice or slot canyon with a curtain of waterfall flowing behind him. The article that christened … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents | 8 Comments

clippings 4/28/21

For Southern California gardeners: Melianthus ‘Purple Haze’ was spotted at Plant Depot in San Juan Capistrano this month, a single plant. After planting, try not to move it around too much; in zone 10, placement that avoids afternoon sun is … Continue reading

Posted in books, clippings, plant nurseries, plant sales | Tagged | 5 Comments

April garden journal

Because the Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’ I had previously tried to establish here had failed to thrive, I assumed that it was dead, not dormant, when I replanted this rocky area in November. Which was fine, because I was going in … Continue reading

Posted in journal, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, succulents | 10 Comments