Tag Archives: Stipa tenuissima

Old California Style

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Denise

“Yeah, the architecture is really consistent, isn’t it? French next to Spanish, next to Tudor, next to Japanese.” Alvy Singer musing on Los Angeles architecture in “Annie Hall.” Adobe-style house in a polyglot landscape. California pepper tree, Schinus molle (from … Continue reading →

Posted in design, driveby gardens | Tagged California Pepper Tree Schinus molle, Crested Polka Dot Cactus, echium, Golden Barrel Cactus Echinocactus grusonii, Opuntia microdasys 'Cristata', Portulacaria afra, Stipa tenuissima | 4 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

the disappearance of summer lawns

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Denise

Lawns are vanishing all over town. The chief ringleader and instigator is the Long Beach Water Department, with their irresistible Lawn-to-Garden Turf Replacement Program. Quite a few of my neighbors have already taken advantage of this program the past couple … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, design, driveby gardens, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Achillea "Moonshine', Anigozanthos, architects Abramsom Teiger, Baja spurge, Calandrinia spectabilis, California, Euphorbia xanti, Gomphrena decumbens, Joni Mitchell's Hissing of Summer Lawns, Lawn-to-Garden garden tour 2013, Lawn-to-Garden Turf Replacement Program, Long Beach, Long Beach Water Department, mediterranean climate, nepeta, Pittosporum tenuifolium, Russelia equisetiformis, Salvia chamaedryoides, Senecio mandraliscae, Senecio vitalis, Stipa tenuissima, Teucrium azureum, Verbena 'Homestead Purple', Verbena lilacina | 12 Comments

driveby garden 11/2/12

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Denise

Bicycling past this house a couple days ago, I made a hard U-turn to check out the swath of silvery groundcover running alongside the sidewalk underplanting a couple shrubs. It’s probably a variety of Gazania rigens. As an inveterate plant … Continue reading →

Posted in design, driveby gardens, succulents, The Hortorialist | Tagged Dymondia margaretae, Gazania rigens, ground covers, Kalanchoe luciae, Melaleuca nisophila, parkways, Stipa tenuissima | 9 Comments

Venice Garden & Home Tour 2012 (street view)

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Denise

A little prelude to upcoming posts on this tour held last Saturday in Venice, California. None of these homes were on the tour. They just happened to be located in the neighborhoods we toured through. Venice oozes a love of … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, garden visit, MB Maher, succulents, The Hortorialist | Tagged Agave 'Mr. Ripple', Agave attenuata, Agave salmiana, Dymondia margaretae, Euphorbia characias, Euphorbia cotinifolia, Stipa tenuissima, Venice Garden & Home Tour 2012 | 10 Comments

Walk the Walk

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Denise

Long Beach Water Department is leading by example to gently ease citizens out of the mindset that wants to seed or unroll mowable turf grass as the default landscape. Who else is better positioned to educate the public on alternative … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, succulents | Tagged Agave deserti, Agave shawii, Agave vilmoriniana, Calandrinia grandiflora, California native plants, Carex testacea, decomposed granite paths, Dendromecon rigida, Dymondia margaretae, Erigeron glaucus, Fonquieria splendens, Graptopetalum paraguayense, Heteromeles arbutifolia, Long Beach Water Department, Ocotillo, Sedum rubrotinctum, Stipa tenuissima, Toyon | 9 Comments