Monthly Archives: April 2010

Anatomy of a Plant Purchase

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Denise

April 2010 Gardens Illustrated arrives in the mailbox. Two-page spread depicts in photographic splendor Carol Klein’s sumptuous spring-blooming choices to grow underneath Cornus controversa ‘Variegata.’ What’s this Prunella-like, spiky, dusky pink-flowered wunderkind with the lush foliage? A calamint maybe? Lamium … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged | 3 Comments

To A Good Home

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Denise

The wind has battered the alstroemeria. The support I provided, a bottomless wrought iron chair, serves more as a guillotine, bending the stalks around knee level. A gigantic tomato cage, 6 feet high and as much across, might contain this … Continue reading →

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More GC Open Days/Pasadena

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Denise

More on the Pasadena gardens on the Garden Conservancy Open Days, April 25, 2010. This was my first tour of Pasadena gardens. I knew the gardens would be large, stately, formal. What I wasn’t prepared for was their scale. The … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden visit, MB Maher, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The Garden Conservacy Open Days – Pasadena

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Denise

A small taste of the tour held Sunday, April 25, 2010. This is from Rancho La Loma. I haven’t seen terracing like this since the Cinque Terre in Italy, the difference being the use of our “local stone,” repurposed broken … Continue reading →

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At the Garden Show/Mall

Posted on April 24, 2010 by Denise

The show was held in an Orange County mall, the South Coast Plaza. If retail therapy is your thing, this mall is the Dr. Freud’s couch of retail therapy. Yves St. Laurent, Tiffany’s, Dolce Gabana, etc. The garden show seemed … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies | Tagged | 3 Comments

For the Vase

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Denise

We had ferocious, 30-knot winds Wednesday. All night the old wooden house was buffeted and storm-tossed, creaking and groaning like she was about to slip her foundation moorings. The wind chimes clanged like alarm bells. I couldn’t sleep past 4 … Continue reading →

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Lysimachia atropurpurea

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Denise

Some plants never live up to their catalogue descriptions. Never mind their growth habits or cultural needs, they simply fail to live up to the gushing prose that purports to describe what they actually, physically look like. This is my … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged | 4 Comments

Agave ‘Kissho Kan’

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Denise

Dwarf Variegated Butterfly Agave. Slow-growing to only a foot. Translation “Happy crown” or “Lucky crown” On the West Coast, these formerly pricy, collectible agaves are really dropping in price. If I see one in a 4-inch pot, I swoop. I … Continue reading →

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Into White

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Denise

A simple garden with acres of sky. Fearing I had carelessly brought in more white flowers than is sensible, it turns out it wasn’t much of a white-out after all, except maybe with the camera. For me, it’d be impossible … Continue reading →

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Tending the Front Garden

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Denise

Couple weekends ago I worked in the front garden. Removed a few bricks for Sempervivum ‘Spring Beauty.’ Then weeded the Spanish poppies from the bricks and cleaned out this agave of pups and old leaves. Why’s it such a big … Continue reading →

Posted in essay, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments