Monthly Archives: June 2012

Friday clippings 6/29/12

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Denise

Lobelia tupa from Chile is blooming for the first time in my garden, thereby making everything right again with the world. Long time coming, Ms. Tupa. The color on the lobelia is deeper than salmon but slightly less intense than … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, design, journal, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Agave bovicornuta, Agave guadalajarana, Annie's Annuals & Perennials, Cactus and Succulent Society of America, CSSA, Dahlia 'Chat Noir', dahlias, expanded steel, Huntington Botanical Gardens, industrial salvage, Lepismium cruciforme, Lobelia tupa, Petunia axillaris, Petunia integrifolia, Portulaca molokiniensis, Teucrium betonicum | 7 Comments

scenes from San Pedro, Calif.

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Denise

I want to show you a house and garden I found earlier today, but first you’ll need to look at the Pacific Ocean, just as I did before I found the house. No, this wasn’t a vacation. I had a … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden visit, succulents, The Hortorialist | Tagged California, Cinque Terre, Joseph Cornell, Point Fermin Park, Roman Polanski's Chinatown, salvage, San Pedro, The Big Lebowski, The Sunken City, Verbena bonariensis | 11 Comments

Dwell on Design/Los Angeles 2012

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Denise

The Metro Blue Line out of Long Beach dropped me off on the doorstep of the Los Angeles Convention Center on Sunday, the last day of Dwell on Design. There’s such a buoyant feeling to bounding off a train at … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden ornament, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged BKB Ceramics, Damian Velasquez, Dwell on Design Los Angeles 2012, expandable metal, Geometric by Bend, Laura Cooper, Loll outdoor furniture, Los Angeles Metro Rail, Oyler Wu Collaborative, Potted gifts for the garden, Potted's City Planter | 5 Comments

Sol House/Natural Discourse UCBG 7/13/12

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Denise

Some intriguing snippets of information and photos are circulating as the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley is transformed for the July 13, 2012 launch of Natural Discourse, an in-situ collaboration among scientists, artists, and the venerable botanical garden. … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit, MB Maher, science | Tagged "Natural Discourse", Henry David Thoreau, Rael San Fratello Architects, renewable energy, Solyndra, University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley | Leave a comment

Karl Blossfeldt Botanical Photogravures

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Denise

MB Maher brought these incredible antique prints to my attention recently, accompanied by this little note: “This process is ink-based and requires making a steel plate of the photo image with acid baths, high-level light exposures, et cetera, until one … Continue reading →

Posted in MB Maher, photography, Plant Portraits | Tagged botanical photogravures, Karl Blossfeldt, MB Maher, photography | 5 Comments

African Queen, fore and aft

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Denise

Trumpet lily ‘African Queen’ this morning.

Posted in Bulbs, Plant Portraits, pots and containers | Tagged Lilium 'African Queen' | 12 Comments

on the scent of tillandsias

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Denise

Tillandsias, epiphytic bromeliads or “air plants,” have almost single-handedly elevated the caliber of gifts for people who love plants. Aeriums, terrariums, glass globes, and light bulb shapes like these from Los Angeles-based outdoor living shop Potted have all been inspired … Continue reading →

Posted in garden ornament, garden visit, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits | Tagged Bocconia arborea, Dirt Couture, Dustin Gimbel, Potted, Rainforest Flora, Tillandsia straminea, Tillandsia streptocarpa | 5 Comments

Bloom Day June 2012

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Denise

I got in too late yesterday for photos for a Bloom Day post, so made a head start last night on checking out the blogs linked on Carol’s May Dreams Gardens host site for Bloom Day. I think that’s the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloom Day, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged Allium sphaerocephalum, Aloe distans, Anigozanthos 'Yellow Gem', Argyranthemum haouarytheum, Bouteloua gracilis, Cannonmois grandis, Cannonmois virgata, Eryngium padanifolium, Foliage Followup, International Garden Center & Floral Design, Melinus nerviglumis, Passiflora sanguinolenta, Pennisetum 'Sky Rocket', Persicaria amplexicaulis, platycerium, Prostranthera ovalifolia 'Variegata, Ruby Grass, Salvia canariensis var. candissima, staghorn fern, Teucrium hircanicum | 13 Comments

the spell of the present

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Denise

Though we may occasionally argue about what a garden is, I think we can all agree that what a garden does is cast a “spell of the present.” I loved this eminently quotable piece from Diane Ackerman a couple days … Continue reading →

Posted in books, creatures, Occasional Daily Photo, succulents | Tagged A Natural History of the Senses, Brachysema praemorsum, Diane Ackerman, Sedum confusum, Sedum nussbaumerianum, The New York Times | 3 Comments

CSSA Plant Sale at the Huntington Botanical Gardens

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Denise

The Cactus & Succulent Society of America’s plant sale at the Huntington June 29 through July 1, 2012, is one I hope not to miss this year. I’ve moved my little Agave parrasana ‘Fireball’ from last year’s plant sales into … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden visit | Tagged Agave parrasana 'Fireball', Cactus & Succulent Society of America, CSSA, Huntington Botanical Gardens, plant sales | 6 Comments