Author Archives: Denise
Laurus nobilis ‘Aureus’
A potted bay tree is one of those timeless mediterranean garden features, like boxwood hedging, crunchy gravel underfoot, or urns planted with agaves. Image found here. Its leaves are useful for cooking just about anything that simmers. Laurus nobilis becomes … Continue reading
Aerial Fizz
Thanks to the late plantsman and artist Kevin Nicolay for this phrase he coined to describe plants that possess elongated fireworks of some kind, whether seed capsule or flower. I think it originates from an interview with Kevin in Horticulture … Continue reading
Plant Sale Weekend
I was determined to get to the UC Irvine Arboretum plant sale this weekend, having had to miss the Huntington Botanical Garden’s big sale last weekend. But before I could browse UCI’s small sale, there were some minor roadblocks. (Just … Continue reading
Occasional Daily Photo 5/21/11
Some new things in bloom I woke up to this morning. Viscaria oculata from Annie’s Annuals. I grew this annual from seed many years ago. It’s amazing good fortune to have a nursery do all that work and offer up … Continue reading
The Reading Room
Decades before I first picked up a shelter/lifestyle magazine or a Restoration Hardware catalogue, Al Pacino taught me the art of luxurious multi-tasking while having a long soak in a tub. Image found here.
Occasional Daily Weather Report 5/18/11
A late-season storm unexpectedly watered the garden for me the past couple nights. In mid-May, this is a huge help. Such a boost to plants budding up for summer, like this Geranium ‘Dragon Heart.’* For this storm to reach us, … Continue reading
Nick Horman’s Incredible Tape Ball
Yesterday’s post on the High Line provoked some interesting discussion on parks, which reminded me of this little movie MB Maher took last fall in New York, a scene he stumbled upon in Central Park. Artist and pickle impresario Nick … Continue reading
Posted in design, MB Maher
Tagged Central Park, Horman's Best Pickles, MB Maher, Nick Horman, urban design
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Foliage Follow-Up May 2011
Excitement builds as this aralia shows signs of life. Aralia cordata ‘Sun King,’ slightly bug-eaten, from Plant Delights, planted fall 2010. I’ve been hovering over this one, coddling it, schlepping gallons of water to it in the very back of … Continue reading
Dim View of the High Line
Yesterday 5/15/11 The New York Times published in their Opinion section “Bringing The High Line Back To Earth” by Witold Rybczynski, professor of urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Rybczynski feels compelled to warn us that the brilliant success … Continue reading
Bloom Day May 2011
Let’s be honest, in zone 10 there’s no equivalent to the pent-up anticipation for blooms to arrive that describes spring in colder zones (and probably makes its arrival that much more exquisitely joyful, that cycle of denial and deliverance). Our … Continue reading