Monthly Archives: May 2018

Hawaii on my mind

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Denise

Because my oldest brother on the Big Island, near Hilo, has been waffling over staying, going, staying, going — what to do with the dogs? — for most of May, that’s why Hawaii is on my mind these days. I … Continue reading →

Posted in journal | Tagged Kilauea volcanic eruption 2018, Lotusland | 6 Comments

Dustin Gimbel’s garden in May

Posted on May 24, 2018 by Denise

I’ve talked about Dustin’s ceramics a lot lately, but how’s his garden growing this very grey-skied May? Last week Shirley Watts was in town for talks on the next installment of Natural Discourse’s installation at the LA Arboretum in spring … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, design, garden visit, MB Maher, pots and containers | Tagged Acacia pendula, Agave mitis var. albidior, Anthericum saundersiae 'Variegata', Bilbergia 'Hallelujah', Dustin Gimbel Second Nature Garden Design, garden designer Shirley Watts, Natural Discourse 2018, Russelia equisetiformis, Trachelospermum asiaticum 'Ogon Nishiki' | 9 Comments

the Nino garden gnome

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Denise

You either embrace kitsch or you don’t (i.e. run away screaming). Or, in the case of Rome-based Plato Designs, you turn kitsch on its red-hooded head and recast it in cubist contours. “Garden gnomes: love them or hate them, there … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden ornament | Tagged garden gnomes, Nino garden gnome, Plato Designs | 2 Comments

Gilmour’s Interactive U.S. Planting Zone Map for 2018

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Denise

“Planting zones are broken down into thirteen areas, also known as USDA zones, which cover the entire United States, including Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico. Each agricultural zone covers a 10-degree range. Zone 1 is the coldest, with an average … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, science | Tagged Gilmour, Holdridge Life Zones Data Set, USDA planting zones, warm temperate thorn steppe | 9 Comments

multifaceted Mirador house, Austin TX

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Denise

Heroic in scale, the agaves and Cor-Ten steel undulating walls wet with rain, topped by a grove of Yucca rostrata at the rear entrance to the property. I was so intrigued by this garden I visited in Austin earlier this … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, design, garden travel, garden visit | Tagged Agave ovatifolia, Austin, COR-TEN steel, Curt Arnette, Garden Bloggers Fling 2018, LaRue Architects, Yucca rostrata | 13 Comments

friday clippings 5/18/18

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Denise

Do you ever worry that you’re getting a little jaded, just slightly inured to cool stuff because we see so much of it now via blogs, Instagram, online periodicals? I admit I worry that occasionally feeling a little inspirationally flat … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings | Tagged Beth Chatto, Christian Marsden, Izawa Ceramics, Jenny Stocker, Saya Designs, Stolen Form, William Finnegan | 4 Comments

Bloom Day May 2018

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Denise

The Chinese Fringe Tree, Chionanthus retusus, seemingly leafs out and blooms simultaneously. Every year before it does so and appears instead to be quite dead, I fear that this is the year it has truly died, succumbing to lack of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloom Day | Tagged ' Amicia zygomeris, Abutilon megapotamicum 'Red', Aeonium 'Berry Exciting', Aeonium leucoblepharum, Aloe camperi, Berlandiera lyrata, Centranthus lecoqii, Euphorbia xanti, Fuchsia, Hazardia detonsa, Lavandula 'Goodwin Creek Grey', Pelargonium acetosum 'Peach', Phytolacca icosandra | 8 Comments

wrap-up; Garden Bloggers Fling Austin 2018

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Denise

the last night’s post-tour dinner in a field of larkspur Austin opened its friendly arms wide, Texas-style, in a full-circle welcome to garden bloggers from all over the world. These annual soirees and orgies of garden touring and plant talk … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, garden travel, garden visit, pots and containers | Tagged Agave ovatifolia, Articulture Designs, Austin, Garden Bloggers Fling 2018, hesperaloe, Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center | 11 Comments

wednesday vignettes 5/2/18

Posted on May 2, 2018 by Denise

More Palm Springs-style landscape architecture from the recent Pasadena Garden Conservancy Open Days, in this case overlooking a deep arroyo, with some of the foothills’ iconic bridges in the distance. The landscape design zealously protects views and is as much … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, design, garden visit, succulents | Tagged Garden Conservancy Open Days, landscape architecture, Nord Eriksson, Pasadena | 3 Comments

Eric Trine’s Column Pedestal Planter Holder

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Denise

A bit of a switch-up from my rusty flea market finds, but here’s proof that elevation is also on the minds of commercial designers and artists, albeit in much sleeker, powder-coated forms, suitable for indoors or outdoors. Photo courtesy of … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, design, pots and containers | Tagged Column Pedestal Planter Holder, Dwell, Eric Trine, Long Beach | 1 Comment