Monthly Archives: August 2014

mangaves, water bills, and other mysteries

I’ve been going over the monthly water bills, which this year give usage in 100-cubic feet per month instead of gallons per day. Beyond exasperated with the inscrutable tables and tiers on July’s bill, I made my very first cranky … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

supergraphic Deborah Sussman

When I visited Los Angeles’ Grand Park for the first time, I didn’t know that environmental designer Deborah Sussman, who passed away last week at age 83, was the force behind those shocking pink chairs and benches, a color Ms. … Continue reading

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Friday clippings 8/22/14

At first sight I became enthralled by artist James Griffith’s exquisite, painterly ripostes to the “drill, baby, drill” set — my words, not his. James is much more polite. By way of a secret alchemy, he utilizes that precious resource … Continue reading

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yucca in bloom

What’s most likely a Yucca recurvifolia ‘Margaritaville,’ is throwing its first bloom. And here I was just telling the Outlaw Gardener that this yucca seems to have decided it’s not the blooming type. Its ears must have been burning because … Continue reading

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged , | 12 Comments

checking out the nurseries in August

It might seem kind of pointless to check out the local nurseries in the dog days of August. A lot of the inventory can look frazzled, but roaming the mostly customer-less aisles in August, armed with sunscreen, hat, sunglasses and … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Bloom Day August 2014

August? Come in, August. Ground control to August? August: Um, we’re in a bit of a holding pattern here. Over. Repetition seems to be a hallmark of my summer Bloom Day posts. It’s been the usual suspects all summer. Still, … Continue reading

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A Visual Compendium of Succulents

This chart has been making the rounds on Pinterest. I’m not too sure of it’s infallibility as a reference since Sedum morganianum, the Burrito/Donkey Tail is listed as Sedum burrito. Sedum morganianum famously deployed as jellyfish at Lotusland. But it … Continue reading

Posted in succulents | Tagged , | 6 Comments

meeting plants in person for the first time

By now you’re probably wondering will this blog ever stop dining out on the Portland garden bloggers meetup. Just one more for now on the plants that really had my number. Which is undeniably an odd number, but the heart … Continue reading

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got flowers?

Some photos of Portland, Oregon gardens visited mid July that welcome flowers to varying degrees. Procreation is messy (to paraphrase a former secretary of defense), and zero emphasis on flowers and their disheveled aftermath is the answer for some gardens. … Continue reading

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It happened one night; August rain

I bought my first water plant Saturday, and it rained all that night. Not a downpour, but a steady drizzle. I’m not saying there’s any causal link between the two, just that they’re both rare events that happened to coincide … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Occasional Daily Weather Report, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments