Monthly Archives: May 2010
Where are the Women Designers?
In the aftermath of this year’s Chelsea show, the dearth of entries by women is discussed in this provocative article from the Telegraph. The article quotes a Sue Hayward, who wonders if the deficit can be due to the fact … Continue reading
Posted in design, shop talk
Tagged Artemisia pedemontana, BBC radio, Chelsea Flower Show 2010, garden design, Sue Hayward, The Telegraph
Leave a comment
Mergers & Acquisitions
If nature abhors a vacuum, then I am nature’s willing handmaiden. By late May, the garden is stuffed, bursting at the seams like this potted Euphorbia tirucalli. Echevarias and sedums tucked into every available spot. Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’ filling in … Continue reading
Posted in essay, Plant Portraits, succulents
Tagged 1970 Volkswagen bus, Atriplex hortensis, Debra Lee Baldwin, Ein the wonder corgi, Euphorbia rigida, Euphorbia tirucalli, Heuchera 'Southern Comfort', plant nurseries, Polygonum orientale, Roger's Gardens, Sticks on Fire, succulents, Teucrium 'Fairy Duster', Verbena bonariensis
6 Comments
Small Moves
“Small moves, Ellie.” No, I didn’t read the book Contact by Carl Sagan but am quoting from the movie, where Jodie Foster as Dr. Ellie Arroway is advised as a child by her father to take it slow when scanning … Continue reading
Need A House? Call Ms. Mouse!
Meet my heroine, Ms. Henrietta Mouse. “…she is an artist, a designer, a dreamer, a builder, a creator, all that and more too.†The Venice Garden Tour got me thinking about Henrietta Mouse again, a children’s book that was a … Continue reading
Esquisses Pour Le Boulanger
Spoke to MB Maher earlier this week as he edited a small road movie from his time in Northern California. He emphasized the throw-away nature of this piece, but also his embarrassing need to keep shooting, even with a 50-dollar … Continue reading
Posted in MB Maher
Leave a comment
The Succulent Lady
I kept telling everyone, “I’m going to a talk by the Succulent Lady!” Unlike my friends and family, most garden bloggers need no further description to know I’m talking about Debra Lee Baldwin, in Southern California promoting her new book … Continue reading
The Smoke Monster
You know what I’m talking about, and it’s not bronze fennel, though he does a pretty good impersonation.
The Shuffle
The annual summer pot shuffle. Which pots shall be plucked from the margins and take pride of place, beautiful specimens of their kind? Every summer brings a different answer. This Agave parryi’s spikes are kept well out of corgi eye … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden ornament, succulents
3 Comments
On A Misty May Morning
Heavy mist, almost a full-blown drizzle. This has been one long, cool spring, with rain forecast for the weekend. Unheard of for May! Carex and Echevaria nodulosa Agave impressa, brought home from the Huntington Botanic Garden’s plant sale over the … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies
Tagged Agave 'Mr. Ripple', Agave impressa, Carex glauca, Echevaria nodulosa, lespedeza
5 Comments
The Angelic Ones
I’m so glad I planted this Angelica stricta ‘Purpurea’ (from Annie’s Annuals, of course) in a pot rather than dooming another angelica by trialing it in the garden. I’m not completely convinced the problem was soil (amended clay) but more … Continue reading