Monthly Archives: May 2011
Occasional Daily Weather Report 5/18/11
A late-season storm unexpectedly watered the garden for me the past couple nights. In mid-May, this is a huge help. Such a boost to plants budding up for summer, like this Geranium ‘Dragon Heart.’* For this storm to reach us, … Continue reading
Nick Horman’s Incredible Tape Ball
Yesterday’s post on the High Line provoked some interesting discussion on parks, which reminded me of this little movie MB Maher took last fall in New York, a scene he stumbled upon in Central Park. Artist and pickle impresario Nick … Continue reading
Posted in design, MB Maher
Tagged Central Park, Horman's Best Pickles, MB Maher, Nick Horman, urban design
2 Comments
Foliage Follow-Up May 2011
Excitement builds as this aralia shows signs of life. Aralia cordata ‘Sun King,’ slightly bug-eaten, from Plant Delights, planted fall 2010. I’ve been hovering over this one, coddling it, schlepping gallons of water to it in the very back of … Continue reading
Dim View of the High Line
Yesterday 5/15/11 The New York Times published in their Opinion section “Bringing The High Line Back To Earth” by Witold Rybczynski, professor of urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Rybczynski feels compelled to warn us that the brilliant success … Continue reading
Bloom Day May 2011
Let’s be honest, in zone 10 there’s no equivalent to the pent-up anticipation for blooms to arrive that describes spring in colder zones (and probably makes its arrival that much more exquisitely joyful, that cycle of denial and deliverance). Our … Continue reading
Summer Containers Aren’t Just For Annuals
I would’ve never been able to get this angelica to bloom in the garden. Trust me, I’ve tried. Rich soil, consistent moisture, strategic sun exposure, these crucial conditions could only be offered in a container. Angelica stricta ‘Purpurea’ was planted … Continue reading
Posted in Plant Portraits, pots and containers
Tagged Angelica stricta 'Purpurea', biennials
8 Comments
Succulents In Your Face
Now that their former stigma as strictly hobbyists’ plants has been exploded by proselytizers like Thomas Hobbs and Debra Lee Baldwin, the moment for succulents is undeniably now. If tulips and bulbs are the lipsticks of the garden, succulents are … Continue reading
Posted in succulents
Tagged aeoniums, crassula, Debra Lee Baldwin, echeverias, recycling, sedum, Senecio rowleyanus, Thomas Hobbs
15 Comments
Asarina
Asarina scandens. What a kewpie-doll mouth. I love watching how the blooms trace along the ropey stems, scrolling intriguing outlines. See the letter “E”? A trove of inspiration for a jewelry designer. A galloping vine, wending its way this summer … Continue reading
Ambivalent About Holidays
It occurred to me belatedly after Sunday’s post that it wouldn’t have killed me to slip a “Happy Mother’s Day” message at the end of the post. “Ambivalent” is a $2 word for how I feel about holidays. (And pretty … Continue reading
Kalanchoe luciae ‘Fantastic’
Yes, I finally succumbed to the newest incarnation of the paddle plant/flapjacks plant, Kalanchoe thyrsiflora, a flashy variegated variety that’s actually a cultivar of K. luciae. I first saw this succulent a few months ago, in January, at the Terra … Continue reading