Category Archives: plant nurseries

It happened one night; August rain

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Denise

I bought my first water plant Saturday, and it rained all that night. Not a downpour, but a steady drizzle. I’m not saying there’s any causal link between the two, just that they’re both rare events that happened to coincide … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Occasional Daily Weather Report, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Agave 'Mr. Ripple', Aloe 'Hercules', August garden, dark-leaved plants, east side of garden, Echeveria multicaulis 'Copper Roses', Garden Bloggers Fling 2014 Portland, International Garden Center & Floral Design, Mina lobata, Olea europaea 'Little Ollie', Pennisetum purpureum 'Princess Caroline', Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Silver Sheen', Potted For Outdoor Living, Pseuderanthemum atropurpureum 'Black Varnish', rhipsalis, Sagittaria lancifolia 'Ruminoides', Salvia guaranitica, Sticks on Fired/Euphorbia tirucalli, water gardens | 15 Comments

back on the home front

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Denise

It’s finally happening. Miraculously, after a couple close calls resulting in an almost fatal wilt, Musschia wollastonii has survived and begun to hoist up that much-anticipated chartreuse candelabra of blooms. The Madeira Giant Bellflower must be an unforgettable sight in … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, garden travel, journal, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Aeonium 'Zwartkop', Agapanthus 'Gold Strike', Agave 'Tradewinds', Agave attenuata 'Boutin's Blue', Aristolochia fimbriata, Australian Native Plants, Calamintha nepeta 'Gottlieb Friedkund., Carex trifida 'Rekohu Sunrise, Cistus Nursery, Corokia virgata 'Sunsplash', Crambe maritima, Crassula pruinosa, Cupressus macrocarpa 'Citriodora', Cussonia gamtoosensis, Dan Hinkley, Digging Dog Nursery, Emilia javanica 'Irish Poet', Eryngium padanifolium, Eucalyptus 'Moon Lagoon', Euphorbia ammak, Far Reaches Farm, Gaillardia 'Oranges & Lemons', Garden Bloggers Fling 2014 Portland, Hayefield Seeds, Hibiscus trionum, Jo O'Connell, Leucadendron 'Ebony', Lotus jacobaeus, Mirabilis jalapa 'Limelight', Musschia wollastonii, Nan Onda, Olearia virgata v. lineata 'Dartonii, Pennisetum 'Sky Rocket', Prostranthera ovalifolia 'Variegata, Pseudobombax ellipticum, San Marcos Growers, Tagetes 'Cinnabar', Variegated Tataki Grass, Windcliff | 14 Comments

Saturday clippings 7/26/14

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Denise

Melocactus matanzanus The Orange County Cactus & Succulent Society sale is this weekend, where the buzz and gossip amongst the sales tables might very likely entice you into bringing home your first melocactus. It’s possible that the recent visit to … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged bromeliads, Danger Garden Favorite Plants, Dyckia 'Naked Lady', Eulophia petersii, Huntington Botanical Gardens, Huntington Desert Garden Conservatory, Melocactus matanzanus, Orange County Cactus and Succulent Society, Pachypodium namanquanum, Rainforest Flora, Solana Succulents Nursery, William Hertrich, Yucca aloifolia 'Purpurea' | 6 Comments

sunday clippings 6/22/14

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Denise

Future shock for me has arrived in the guise of an orange wristband. “Congratulations! You moved 24,995 steps, 12.07 miles, 249% of goal!” Jawbone’s UP pedometer calculates all that aimless garden puttering and tallies up some surprising stats. My orange … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged "Green is Good" by D. T. Max, 2014, Annie's Annuals & Perennials, Brillantaisia subulugurica, Cissus discolor, Commelina coelestis, Dypsis decaryi Triangle Palm, Edyn garden system, Ganna Walska, Garden Bloggers Fling 2014 Portland, Hellstrip Gardening by Evelyn Hadden, Huntington Botanical Garden plant sale June 28-29, Jawbone UP wristband, Lotusland, Musschia wollastonii, Oregon, Philodendron melanochrysum, Senecio scaposus v. addoensis, Tanacetum vulgare 'Isla Gold', The Nature Conservancy, The New Yorker May 12, Timber Press | 4 Comments

Dustin’s June 14 Plant Fair

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Denise

Coming this Saturday at Dustin’s house and garden. Saturday, June 14, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. or thereabouts 1750 Sherman Place Long Beach, CA 90804 Nicely coinciding with the bloom of the giant Dutchman’s pipe vine, Aristolochia gigantea. Saturday, June … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, plant nurseries | Tagged Agave gypsophila, Aristolochia gigantea, Dustin Gimbel's June 2014 Plant Fair, plant fairs, plant sale Long Beach | 3 Comments

Cussonia spicata and the value of plants

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Denise

I have these weird unwritten rules when buying plants. For example, $30 is usually deemed way too much to spend on one plant. It’s not a conscious rule, it’s just after checking the price, unless it’s spectacularly, once-in-a-lifetime rare, I … Continue reading →

Posted in plant nurseries, Plant Portraits | Tagged Chinese fringe tree, Chionanthus retusus, Cussonia gamtoosensis, Cussonia spicata | 14 Comments

a long weekend (and a local plant sale)

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Denise

Name me three other words in the English language that can be strung together to produce as exciting an effect as A…Long…Weekend. The pergola table will have to be cleared for weekend breakfasts and dinners. (I never seem to eat … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit, plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Dustin Gimbel's June 14th plant sale, Memorial Day Weekend, Sonchus canariensis, three-day weekends | 3 Comments

Agave parryi ‘Cream Spike’

Posted on May 10, 2014 by Denise

This is such a sweet agave for containers. Under a foot across in ultimate size, it is nevertheless a busy little mother. Just before its photo, I had cleaned out the offsets it produces so freely, which I’ll grow on … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers | Tagged Agave applanata 'Cream Spike', Agave parryi 'Cream Spike', San Marcos Growers | 4 Comments

this is my brain on spring

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Denise

Spring is such a massive distraction, and that’s coming from just my own little garden, which apart from work* I rarely want to leave. For the first time in my adult life, I drove by a multiplex theater on Sunday … Continue reading →

Posted in garden travel, plant nurseries, succulents | Tagged alcantarea, Andy's Orchids, bromeliads, Cerbera odollam, Cosmos 'Yellow Garden', eiphyllums, Entada sp., epidendrums, Graptopetalum pentandrum ssp. superbum, Graptopetalum superbum 'Cotton Candy', rhipsalis sp., Southern California Spring Garden Show 2014, tillandsias | 7 Comments

planting notes 2014

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Denise

Every year brings a new crop of preoccupations in the garden, such as: Will the beschorneria choose this spring for their first bloom? How about the puya in the gravel garden? Feel like blooming this year? Some plants really do … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings, garden travel, journal, plant nurseries, succulents | Tagged Aloe marlothii x castanea, Anigozanthos 'Yellow Gem', Annie's Annuals & Perennials Nursery, Asphodeline lutea, Beschorneria X 'Martin Grantham Hybrids', Cirsium occidentale, Cistus 'Snow Fire', Crambe maritima, Eryngium padanifolium, Glaucium grandiflorum, Lessertia montana, Leucadendron 'Ebony', Puya mirabilis, Ricinus communis 'New Zealand Purple', self-sowers, Sideritis oroteneriffae | 5 Comments