Author Archives: Denise
Bulletproof (I Wish It Was…)
Eccremocarpus scaber, Chilean Glory Flower. Allegedly a rambunctious annual vine, possibly perennial in my zone 10. Usually characterized as a vine to cover sheds and vast expanses of unsightly fence. In other words, bulletproof. Image from Jungle Seeds “Blooms early … Continue reading
Posted in Plant Portraits
Tagged Bulletproof...I Wish I Was, Chilean Glory Flower, Eccremocarpus scaber, Radiohead
3 Comments
Square Stems & Other Botanical Curiosities
Studying taxonomic classification and “keying” out the physical characteristics of plants almost 18 years ago was incredibly absorbing, but the detailed vocabulary has mostly slipped from memory from disuse. Still, it’s a rare occasion that I look at a salvia … Continue reading
A Summer Afternoon
Photograph entitled “A Summer Afternoon” by Olivia Parker. That plane shadow could be the DC-3 that flies over our garden twice a day, bringing supplies to Catalina Island. The leaf shadow, Arundo donax. Looking at this photo, I feel I’m … Continue reading
Dinner at Dustin’s
A word of advice. An invitation to dinner at Dustin’s should never be passed up. Yes, he is a wonderful cook (Salade Nicoise with salmon, chocolate ganache torte). But prowling around his garden to see what he’s been up to … Continue reading
Posted in design, garden visit, MB Maher
Tagged Annette Goliti Gutierrez, Dustin Gimbel, MB Maher, Potted, Reuben Munoz
5 Comments
Palms & Lawn
I’ve had a very interesting past couple of days. (Interesting in my usual narrow, horticultural sense of the word.) Thursday I finally made it to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to check out up close the new Eli … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, garden travel, MB Maher, succulents
Tagged Agave guiengola 'Creme Brulee', Anne Raver, Austin, drought, Eli Broad, Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta', Getty Center, Jim Dugan, Kelly Griffin, LACMA, lawn replacement, Licuala peltata, Mark Simmons, Rancho Soledad Nursery, Ravenala madagascariensis, Renzo Piano, restoration ecologist, Richard Serra's Band, Robert Irwin, Texas, The New York Times
4 Comments
Foreword to Piet Oudolf Landscapes in Landscapes
I didn’t dare take this beautiful book on the recent camping trip, so it sat waiting in a quiet house. A couple pages behind the cover’s brisk Helvetica type is this arresting foreword by Robert Hammond, co-founder of the High … Continue reading
Into The Fog
Every August we head for mists and fogs, usually those that creep on cat’s paws and shroud the coastline of Oregon. But this year, squeezed by budget and time constraints, we took the advice of Far Out Flora and Gardenbook … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, Plant Portraits
Tagged Angelica stricta 'Purpurea', Bupleurum fruticosum, Digging Dog Nursery, Digitalis lanata, Echeveria agavoides 'Ebony', eucomis, Kniphofia thompsonii var. snowdenii, Lobelia tupa, MacKerricher State Park, Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, Mendocino Headlands State Park, Van Damme State Park
14 Comments
Foliage Follow-Up August 2011
Thank goodness Pam at Digging hosts a Foliage Follow-Up to May Dreams Gardens Bloom Day. The blooming lineup in my July Bloom Day post can stand in with very little revision for August. Holding down the fort and keeping the … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bloom Day, Plant Portraits, succulents
Tagged ' Amicia zygomeris, ' Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost, Achillea ageratum, Agave 'Mr. Ripple', Anemanthele lessoniana, Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’, Arundo donax 'Golden Chain, Coreopsis 'Full Moon', Coronilla valentina subsp. glauca, Cupressus macrocarpa 'Citriodora', Darrell Probst, Dorycnium hirsutum, Echeveria 'Opal Moon', Echium gentianoides 'Tajinaste', Euphorbia bracteata, Leycesteria formosa 'Golden Lanterns', Musa 'Siam Ruby', Olea europaea 'Little Ollie', Passiflora sanguinolenta, Phormium 'Alison Black', Stipa arundinacea, Tanacetum vulgare 'Isla Gold', Teucrium 'Fairy Dust', Trombetta di Albenga
7 Comments
Inter-City Cactus Show & Sale
I went to the show, had my mind blown, took some pictures. In other words, a typical succulent show…except that I introduced myself to a best-selling author on succulents in the landscape and containers and then gushed and fawned and … Continue reading
Arguing With A Bad-Tempered Gardener
What an odd concept, to separate enjoyment of gardens from the process of garden-making. A garden magazine article a couple months ago introduced me to this astonishing notion, when it profiled the owner of a complex garden who spoke intelligently … Continue reading
Posted in design, essay
Tagged Andrea Cochrane, Anne Wareham, Charles Hawes, Veddw, Women in the Dirt
13 Comments