Category Archives: pots and containers

garden recovery

I knew I was going to have emergency abdominal surgery for a very large but benign cyst just a few days before it was scheduled, so of course I spent those few days in a frenzy of moving pots and … Continue reading

Posted in journal, plant nurseries, pots and containers | 5 Comments

so I brought home another New Zealander

Yesterday’s nursery jaunt included Roger’s Garden in Newport Beach, where I found the New Zealander of the title, Cassinia fulvida, and Village Nursery in Huntington Beach. Driving empty freeways sounds like a great time, but it eerily underscores how aberrant … Continue reading

Posted in journal, plant nurseries, pots and containers | 6 Comments

the dappled life

So you’re planting and planting your little garden and having the best time, but because your undisciplined and eclectic taste runs to every kind and type of green life, from ground hugging to tree size, inevitably you wake up one … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, journal, pots and containers | 4 Comments

still plant shopping

With demoralizing chaos at the federal level continuing unabated, it’s incredibly reassuring to experience the pragmatic approaches deployed locally. Let’s just take for an example, oh, I dunno — shopping for plants, for instance. I’ve been shopping every couple weeks … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, plant nurseries, pots and containers | 6 Comments

the Glatstein garden by Dustin Gimbel

I knew for the past year or so that the Los Angeles Times would eventually publish an article on the Glatstein family’s Long Beach garden designed by ceramicist Dustin Gimbel a few years back. Even so, the March 31, 2020 … Continue reading

Posted in artists, design, garden visit, MB Maher, pots and containers, succulents | 9 Comments

what’s new…and what isn’t

Burrowing into plant and seed catalogues isn’t a bad idea at the moment. Mail ordering plants and seeds is eminently doable even in a pandemic crisis, and if you’re hanging out a lot at home, so much the better for … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | 4 Comments

(in anticipation of spring) cleanup

I asked Marty to drill drainage holes in this metal cart yesterday. Without drainage it was fairly useless, accumulating water and leaves and making a slimy brew of them all winter. When I returned home late in the afternoon, Marty … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, pots and containers, succulents | 5 Comments

November now and then

My rapturous opinion of November hasn’t changed much over the years (the cooler days, the slanted light, the chance of rain!), but certain patterns in the garden do escape my notice. Perusing past November entries, I find that Berkheya purpurea … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Plant Portraits, pots and containers | 5 Comments

the thoroughly modern tilly

Mitch has been tagging along with Josh Rosen (the airplantman) to check out some of his custom installation work to get a sense of how Josh’s tillandsia-specific designs work in situ. In this home in the Pacific Palisades, the classic … Continue reading

Posted in artists, design, inspire me, MB Maher, pots and containers | 5 Comments

channeling willy guhl

The firecracker plant (fountainbush, coral plant, among a plethora of common names) is an incredibly tough addition to a frost-free dry garden, attributes which also make it an excellent choice for flourishing in containers, which can be a rough life … Continue reading

Posted in artists, design, pots and containers | 3 Comments