Monthly Archives: December 2010
Bloom Day December 2010
(Actor Slim Pickens riding the bomb in Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove.) A December Bloom Day post begs for a little goofiness. No other word describes prowling a drizzly garden for photos in non-existent light searching for non-existent blooms. The roster for … Continue reading
Where Was The Sun?
One of those drizzly, grey days where one mumbles phrases from Conan Doyle’s The Musgrave Ritual: ‘Where was the sun?’ ‘Over the oak.’ ‘Where was the shadow?’ ‘Under the elm.’ Not a bad day to keep to the couch and … Continue reading
Geared Up
Apart from tools, very little gear is required to garden. It can be done in your bathrobe, coffee cup in one hand, spade in the other. No special shoes are required. Hats and style of clothing mostly depend on how … Continue reading
Phlomis
Phlomis can be such fine plants year-round, with many kinds suited for gardens colder than my zone 10 garden. The familiar Jerusalem sage, Phlomis russeliana, is hardy to 0-10F. Mine came labeled as P. aurea, but it’s not showing much … Continue reading
Unnamed Future Garden Project
Yesterday started out great. I won a pair of boots from Plant Talk. I’m purposely avoiding my typical over-reliance on hyperbole because there are simply no words to adequately describe this event. Thrilling? Way beyond thrilling. In this case, thrilling … Continue reading
Grace’s Technicolor Coat
I’ve been eagerly anticipating the moment when the smoke tree Grace drops her leaves, at which time we have a pruning date scheduled to rein in her exuberance. Planted as 4-inch rooted cutting in the northeast southeast corner, she’s now … Continue reading
Winter Whites
The gift of Solanum marginatum from Dustin opened a chilly-looking bloom yesterday. For a solanum from Abyssinia, the White-Edged Nightshade really knows how to dress for winter. (Labeled from the grower as S. marginata, but my trusty Hortus Third says … Continue reading
Posted in Plant Portraits
Tagged Dustin Gimbel, nightshade, noxious weed, Second Nature Garden Design, Solanum marginatum
3 Comments
Winter Sun ‘Variegata’
I never met a variegated leaf I didn’t like, which might be considered the equivalent of a horticulturalist recessive trait, a weakness of character, a penchant for the flashy. In other words, not in the best of taste. Variegated derives … Continue reading
The Great Corgi Caper
Maybe your local newspaper was following this story. Possibly the breaking Wikileaks news edged it off the front page. Now that Bunny and Peter have been rescued, I can exhale and indulge in some flippancy, but make no mistake, for … Continue reading
Posted in Ephemera, succulents
Tagged AKC/Eukanuba National Championship, Aloe peglerae, corgi, Cowboy Bebop, Ein, Pembroke Welsh corgi, Peter and Bunny
3 Comments
Extraordinary Pots for Extraordinary Plants
I was in the area for work-related business so decided to pay a late-afternoon visit to the California Cactus Center in Pasadena. I’ve had aloes on the brain since visiting the Huntington and wanted to check on the CCC’s aloe … Continue reading