Author Archives: Denise
Sedum & the Summer of Neglect
A tale of invincibility. The sedum, with the survivability of a cockroach, has been performing every trick I’ve asked it to. Way back in January I planted up these hollow flues pried out of our chimney when some repairs were … Continue reading
Wreath of Asarina
Now that it’s October, the grapevine wreath I hung on the fence mid-summer doesn’t seem half as silly. The pink flowers are from a nearby Asarina scandens, which has been galloping over the fence. The wreath is one I made … Continue reading
Occasional Daily Weather Report 10/9/11
After last week’s day of rain, the sidewalk’s warming up again. High 70’s and low 80’s for the next few days. (A favorite spot to warm up and also cuff the corgi’s tail-less bottom as he passes through the feline … Continue reading
“Gardens: An Essay” by Robert Pogue Harrison
Strange how, even in the most unlikely places, thoughts can still turn to gardens. Jury duty last week had me confined for a good part of Friday in a large, drab room full of strangers, all of us potential jurors … Continue reading
Posted in artists, essay, journal
Tagged gardens, Gardens: An Essay, Harold Bloom, Mark of Cura, paradise, Robert Pogue Harrison
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Rained Out
Unlike a sporting event or outdoor concert or meal, a Southern California garden that’s rained out in early October is cause for rejoicing. And to really intensify the blissed-out experience of the first seasonal rains, just the day before you … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bulbs, design, garden visit, Occasional Daily Weather Report, Plant Portraits
Tagged Agave bovicornuta, Agave desmettiana 'Variegata', Agave parryi var. truncata, Allium sphaerocephalum, Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition', climate change, dahlias, garden disputes, Pennisetum 'Princess Caroline', prechilling tulips, Salvia farinacea 'Texas Violet', San Marcos Growers
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Home
If you ever walk your neighborhood wondering why it looks the way it does, or wonder why you never want to walk in your neighborhood at all, you may be interested in The New York Times opinion piece, “Shifting the … Continue reading
Posted in design
Tagged "Shifting the Suburban Paradigm", Allison Arieff, Dwell, The New York Times
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Beer & Art
I’m not arguing that these are the twin pillars of civilization or anything. Just pointing out that there is a surreal alliance between the two that has been taking place for years in a local abandoned brewery. The old Pabst … Continue reading
Posted in design, garden visit, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Ken Burns Prohibition, Los Angeles Brewery Art Walk, succulents
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Mid Century Modern Madness
Yesteday, the Modernica sale, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A couple wire, Eiffel-Tower-base chairs were tentatively on my list, like these: But the sale itself was such an amazing spectacle of Mid Century Modern mania that I lost my focus, … Continue reading
Garden Miscellany
Since the post on the tree collard continually gets a surprising number of hits, full disclosure is in order: I’ve composted the tree collard. It is a defiantly ugly vegetable. My hat is off to fellow tree collard growers who … Continue reading
Salvia macrophylla ‘Upright Form’
Large-leaved sage, Salvia macrophylla. Insistently, emphatically, imperially blue. And since I’ve officially entered the fall season of travel lust I tumble into every year, a more sinister association also comes to mind, that of Mayan Blue, a sacrificial blue. The … Continue reading