Monthly Archives: September 2014

beam me here

Actor Zachary Quinto, probably best known for playing the young Spock in the JJ Abrams’ Star Trek movies, on the evidence of his garden, seems to be a well-grounded young man. It’s not very often that a house for sale … Continue reading

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a garden wedding

When someone who works in landscape design gets married, even the agaves are dressed for the occasion. Congratulations to Mary True and Cheryl Fippen on their recent wedding in Berkeley, California. Thank you both for your kind permission to use … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, cut flowers, design, garden ornament, garden visit, MB Maher, photography | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

streetside with grasses and succulents

Because of this house, I spent a good part of yesterday afternoon trying to source a flat of Sesleria autumnalis or Sesleria ‘Greenlee.’ No luck yet, but I will not be deterred.

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, driveby gardens, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

backdrops for plants

Some interesting backdrops I found around town, some intentional, some borrowed, some just sheer serendipity. I’m wondering what came first here, the choice of color for the house and then the Lion’s Tail? Or did the Leonotis leonurus start the … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, driveby gardens, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

fall planting notes 2014

The first second day of fall. Depending on who you talk to, summer was either glorious or it passed like a kidney stone. No in between. I’d describe summer 2014 and its occasional heatwaves as a cocktail that included plenty … Continue reading

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pandemonium revisited

The New York Times has a very nice article today on Pandemonium Aviaries (“362 Birds, and Unruffled“), which MB Maher visited and photographed in 2012. Since that time, bird rescuer Michelle Raffin has written a book “The Birds of Pandemonium; … Continue reading

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streetside; your own personal prairie

When my job canceled today, I knew exactly where I wanted to go before breakfast, before even the first cup of coffee. The local neighborhood prairie. It’s something you don’t see everyday in my coastal neighborhood in Los Angeles County, … Continue reading

Posted in climate, design, driveby gardens, The Hortorialist | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

extraordinary leaves

All leaves are extraordinary in a basic, photosynthetic sense, and then there are those that push the point even further. Leaves perform infinite adaptive riffs and improvisations on variegation or curve, curl, and flounce. A couple examples in my garden … Continue reading

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Bloom Day September 2014

I think I’m finally getting the hang of this heat wave business. I’m taking a cue from the plants: Hunker down and just wait it out. When I cut the melianthus back, this Gomphostigma virgatum found some needed breathing room. … Continue reading

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Gastrolobium ‘Bronze Butterfly’

Before September turns the corner into fall, when my garden plans will predictably revive and become hopeful and catalogue-driven once again, it’s a good opportunity to take a clear-eyed look at the survivors. The survivors are once-treasured plants that slowly … Continue reading

Posted in plant nurseries, Plant Portraits | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments