Author Archives: Denise

Plants That Bear Watching

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Denise

Every garden probably has a few. Not exactly weeds, but tending toward the weedy, yet something about them holds you in thrall. Keeping these plants in the garden is flirting with disaster, but still you just can’t break it off. … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

A Smausian Water Garden

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Denise

Looking into the future of newspapers, there’s nothing but thick fog concealing possible total shipwreck. Looking to the past can seem like a golden age, especially for garden writers. In Los Angeles, we’re lucky to have the amazing Emily Green … Continue reading →

Posted in design, garden visit | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Vacuuming the Sotols

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Denise

Elsewhere February seems determined to be one for the record books. Added to worries for family and friends all over the country, there’s now anxiety for the gardens and their owners all over the world I’ve come to know through … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies | Tagged | 4 Comments

Lobelia tupa/Yo-Yo Gardening

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Denise

I’ve been in a digging mood, which probably dates back to this draft of a post I wrote but never posted on December 28, 2010. A brief shower last Sunday has been the only rain since the December storms, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Journal February 1, 2011

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Denise

February is about the time of year when the little reminder notes really start to pile up, when sending a barrage of e-mails to myself seems an inefficient system compared to the search capabilities on my blog, a feature I … Continue reading →

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Succulents in the Landscape

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Denise

The camera battery charger has been annoyingly misplaced and a new one finally ordered, but it was several l-o-n-g days in coming, at last arriving late afternoon yesterday. At first light I was up, camera in hand, heading straight across … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Votes for Ein!

Posted on January 29, 2011 by Denise

This week in the Pets Mid-Century Furniture contest held by Modernica. (But, doggone, if that skunk on the Eames rocker isn’t a scene-stealer!)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 4 Comments

The Ideal

Posted on January 29, 2011 by Denise

I haven’t seen the movie ‘Black Swan’ yet, but sometimes I wonder if my own search for the ideal plant isn’t reminiscent of the exacting standards of ballet.

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Year of Euphorbias

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Denise

Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’ is capable of an exceptionally long season in zone 10, basically year-round. And not just spitting out a few blooms, but flourishing. A cultivar of E. hypericifolia, it is a true perennial here in zone 10. Extremely … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Kalanchoe grandiflora

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Denise

All succulents can be described as fleshy to some degree, but this kalanchoe is positively indecent, a real fleshpot. A tall, upright succulent to 3 feet. How to describe the color? There actually exists a means to describe the complex … Continue reading →

Posted in succulents | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments