Monthly Archives: December 2013

garden notes 12/30/13

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Denise

Over the holidays, daytime temps have been hovering around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Considering my sister-in-law’s flight into Los Angeles from Cody, Wyoming, was delayed by storms for four days, it seems churlish to complain about the warm weather. I’ll just … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden visit, journal, Occasional Daily Weather Report | Tagged Agave desmettiana 'Variegata', Agave guadalajarana 'Leon', Cussonia gamtoosensis, Cussonia paniculata, Cyrus Pringle, Dymondia margaretae, Echeveria agavoides, RHS Award of Garden Merit, South African mountain cabbage trees | 3 Comments

holiday lull

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Denise

How are we all doing? Holding up okay? The first holiday is already a wrap, and we’re suspended smack in the middle of the countdown to the next, so resumption of routine is still a week away. (And happy holidays, … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, Occasional Daily Photo, photography | Tagged Abelardo Morell, Aloe bainesii, camera obscura, Euphorbia ingens, the Central Garden by Robert Irwin, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Views of Central Park | 2 Comments

flea market 101

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Denise

Getting to our first ever flea market as buyers sellers last Sunday was a journey of just five miles. Still, it was epic in scope and had all the hallmarks of a serious expedition: Not sleeping the night before, endless … Continue reading →

Posted in commerce, design, garden ornament, MB Maher, pots and containers | Tagged collecting, concrete objects, Dustin Gimbel, flea markets, Kris Peterson Late to the Garden Party, Long Beach Antique Market, MB Maher, non-secateur, Rancho Reubidoux, Reuben Munoz, ropework, salvage, VW bus | 9 Comments

ghosts of gardens past

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Denise

Cleaning out old photo albums releases lots of ghosts of gardens past. Do I feel guilty and as greedy as Scrooge over all the plants that have come and gone? Not a bit. I do notice that I’ve become more … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, plant crushes, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged Anemanthele lessoniana, Centranthus ruber 'Alba', Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, Echeveria 'Black Prince', Geranium 'Dragon Heart', Geranium pyrenaicum 'Bill Wallis', Libertia peregrinans, Lophomyrtus x ralphii 'Red Dragon', Persicaria amplexicaulis, Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Golf Ball', Rose 'Chromatella', Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain', Sedum nussbaumerianum, Stipa arundinacea, Stipa tenuissima, Vitis vinifera 'Purpurea' | 11 Comments

I wish I had a river I could skate away on

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Denise

Digging out from under piles of work, with holiday prep woefully inadequate to date, I’ve been daydreaming, romanticizing really, what I could do with a pair of ice skates and a frozen river. The reality is, in Los Angeles it … Continue reading →

Posted in Occasional Daily Weather Report | Tagged "Where Is the World's Best Ice Skating?", Four Seasons Magazine, frozen Amsterdam canals, Joni Mitchell's River, outdoor ice skating, The Huffington Post, The Labyrinth du Domaine Enchanteur. | 5 Comments

so cold that plants are turning purple

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Denise

The cold weather is coaxing some fine seasonal coloration out of plants, especially those whose names hint to a destiny with the color purple anyway. Acacia baileyana ‘Purpurea’ deeply plummy mid ribs on the leaves of Melianthus ‘Purple Haze’ Yucca … Continue reading →

Posted in Occasional Daily Weather Report, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged "Umbrella Group: why not make room for a Schefflera?" by Robbie Blackhall-Miles, Acacia baileyana 'Purpurea', Crug Farm Plants, hardy scheffleras, Melianthus 'Purple Haze', Yucca aloifolia 'Purpurea' | 4 Comments

flea market prep

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Denise

I had so much fun yesterday organizing for the flea market this Sunday. Tapping poppy seeds into packets, gathering up all the lab beakers into a partitioned wooden box for a safe journey, making bunches of dried poppy seedpods to … Continue reading →

Posted in commerce, cut flowers, design | Tagged Cross-Pollination event, dried seedpods, flea market, garden books, Papaver setigerum, pop-up shop 12/15/13 Long Beach Antique Market, poppies | 2 Comments

history of my garden, part VIII

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Denise

I decided last year that I needed to break up the big border that covers most of the back garden and carve a narrow, oblique path through part of it. Nothing formal and really just an access path, curving probably … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit, journal, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged Coprosma 'Plum Hussy', Crassula perforata, dry-laid bricks, Dymondia margaretae, Echeveria agavoides, Geranium maderense 'Alba', Magnolia liliflora 'Nigra', paths, Paving, Plectranthus neochilus, Salvia canariensis var. candissima | 3 Comments

Sunday clippings 12/8/13

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Denise

(baby, it’s cold outside…) The cold front that’s been scaring the bejeezus out of Central Valley citrus growers hit new lows last night. The back garden temperature gauge registered 40 degrees at 7ish a.m., but that’s our moderating coastal influence … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings, cut flowers, Occasional Daily Weather Report | Tagged Aeonium 'Zwartkop', Big Daddy's Antiques, Culver City, equisetum, equisetum spore dispersal, Helleborus argutifolius, holiday cheer, Remodelista Holiday Market Los Angeles, The Nutcracker ballet | 4 Comments

a very merry flea

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Denise

Where & When: Find us Sunday, December 15, 2013, at the Long Beach Antique Market. It opens early (6:30 a.m.!), so it won’t take too big of a bite out of your day. Who: Me, garden designer Dustin Gimbel (non-secateur), … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden ornament | Tagged concrete objects, December 15 flea market, Dustin Gimbel, garden murals, hand-made, Long Beach Antique Market, non-secateur, pop-up shop, Rancho Reubidoux, Reuben Munoz | 4 Comments