Monthly Archives: April 2011

Lemon Arbor

Arbors of roses, wisteria, grapes, long trusses of laburnum…timeless horticultural cliches under which one glides lost in the quandary of which Jane Austen heroine one resembles most. (Fanny Price of Mansfield Park.) Never had I walked under an arbor of … Continue reading

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Photographer James Wojcik

Possibly one of the most visually inventive editorial product photographers working today. Some garden themes. James Wojcik

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Bloom Day April 2011

Southern California, a mile from the ocean, zone 10, spring a couple months ahead of most of the country. With the grasses joining the frothy euphorbias in bloom, there’s now a supercharged atmosphere that animates the garden. I love it … Continue reading

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Free-Range Succulents

At Lotusland (USDA zone 10), it was thrilling to see succulents set free from ceramic pots to creep and spill over rocks. Increasingly, even in frost-free gardens, succulents have become the darlings of container designs, but where they can overwinter … Continue reading

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Occasional Daily Photos/Lotusland

The clamshell beach at Lotusland Backed by a low retaining wall dripping with dudleyas and other succulents (Thank you, Kathy!)

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Changing Tastes

I visited a couple nurseries today and was a bit horrified by the seemingly overnight invasion of flat after flat of “spring color,” a reaction which made me wonder if I’m growing snobbish. So am I a snob? I don’t … Continue reading

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Riches of Rancho Reubidoux

Faithful readers of Reuben Munoz’s blog, Rancho Reubidoux, will have followed Reuben’s decision to join the Riverside Flower Show and Garden Tour, cheering him on as he underwent the harrowing process of qualifying to be on the tour and then … Continue reading

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Sage Vice

Who can say at what number an enthusiasm or “keen interest” ends and a collection of plants begins? 20 hostas? 6 agaves? 114 daylilies? When the genus is as diverse in leaf and flower as salvia, a collection interspersed throughout … Continue reading

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Orange Is A Color You Either Love or Hate

The front gravel garden is aglow in orange. Dyckias, Spanish poppies. Personally, I’m on very good terms with orange. Some good plants refuse to come in any other color.

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Le Prince Jardinier

Véritable chaise des jardins parisiens restaurée. Google translation: “Chair of the true Parisian gardens restored.” The Parisian shop Le Prince Jardinier is mentioned by Natalia Hill in her piece “Get Stuffed — The Animal Wonderland of Deyrolle,” found on the … Continue reading

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