Author Archives: Denise
White Point Nature Preserve; landscape interrupted
White Point Nature Preserve in San Pedro, CA is a remarkable gift of public open space nestled into 100 acres of bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It’s a landscape that visibly bears the marks of tumultuous human endeavors spanning at … Continue reading
Posted in garden visit, journal, plant sales
6 Comments
bloom day May 2019
Correcting the record: In early May I wrote “Reseeding nicotianas are a fixture of spring now and come to the fore after the poppies are almost over. I sowed some ‘Tinkerbell’ nicotianas, which are so similar to this reseeding flowering … Continue reading
Posted in Bloom Day
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resort style
The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days for Los Angeles was held last Sunday, and its five gardens fairly well covered the breadth of idiosyncratic ambitions people have for the land immediately surrounding their homes — from verdant gardens supporting lush plant … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, garden visit
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more talk about plants
I’m blaming it on spring. A beautifully soft, mild spring. And that rainy winter certainly didn’t hurt in rebuilding confidence. New acquisitions are now unloaded from the back of the Mini at near weekly intervals. Amazingly, this little garden swallows … Continue reading
Posted in journal
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tuesday clippings 4/23/19
The pitcher plant Sarracenia ‘Scarlet Belle’ is sending out more flowers than leaves this spring. I have no idea if this is usual, unusual, a sign of imminent demise, or what exactly. But at least the pitcher plants made it … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, journal, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Ozothamnus diosmifolius
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spring surge
In what’s become a spring ritual, I thinned out a whole bunch of poppies today (my go-to poppy, Papaver setigerum, which has been reseeding for years). And yanked handfuls of branches from the bulging honeywort, Cerinthe major purpurascens, too. When … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, shop talk, succulents
10 Comments
recycling; it takes more than a bottle village
After a hard-scrabble life of over 60 years, and after the roughshod course of a couple marriages and the tragic loss of most of her children, Tressa Prisbrey decided when she settled in Simi Valley with her third husband, Mr. … Continue reading
garden tour season 2019
Upcoming garden tour: APLD S.E.E. garden tour Saturday, April 13, 2019, 9-4 p.m. tickets @ https://tinyurl.com/y5tzaeky One’s own garden is never enough. One’s friends’ gardens are never enough. Seeing lots of other gardens is essential sustenance for this peculiar obsession, … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, garden visit
3 Comments
the giant fennel
Mitch has been sending photos from his wanderings in Greece this week while I watch his cat. I don’t mean to always be a supergeek botanical nuisance, but there’s been a tall umbellifer cropping up in the background in those … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, MB Maher, Plant Portraits
11 Comments
Nigel Dunnett’s Low-Input, High-Impact Landscapes
(Nigel Dunnett passed away in late April 2026. Updating this post on the visit he made to speak at the Huntington in 2019. Too young, such a loss.) A few days before he was scheduled to speak at the Huntington … Continue reading
Posted in climate, design, MB Maher, science
11 Comments