Author Archives: Denise
echiums, blue spikes for dry gardens
At the Huntington earlier in the week… Echiums getting the formal treatment. Formal, informal, echiums never hit a false note. They’re some of the wildest, spikiest blues around. Sometimes shading into violet, with other species spiking in white, red. Many … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, garden visit
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garden notes 3/20/19
Yesterday I removed the diseased carcass of Agave ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue’ which lived its brief but spectacular life – until this rainy winter – under the acacia tree in the far southeast corner. You’d think having to battle for resources … Continue reading
Digital Nature 2019
(More from MB Maher, far-flung AGO correspondent. Winter storms, family stuff, a host of things kept me from attending Natural Discourse‘s Digital Nature 2019 at the LA Arboretum this past February. So I’ve been pumping Mitch, who has worked with … Continue reading
Posted in artists, garden visit, MB Maher
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upcoming dates
This is what’s on my radar this spring. I’m also going to include these dates in “Dates to Remember” under the masthead for ease of reference and will be updating throughout the spring and summer. Let me know if there’s … Continue reading
Posted in garden visit, plant sales
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miscellany from the Modernism Week Garden Tour 2019
On the recent Palm Springs Modernism Week self-guided garden tour, it was impossible to confine one’s attention to houses solely on the tour, so I’m including some other swivel-headed discoveries. No, I didn’t find #thatpinkdoor, but there were plenty of … Continue reading
Posted in design, driveby gardens, garden travel, pots and containers
Tagged Kaufmann House
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MB Maher revisits the High Line February 2019
Mitch sent me a short note and some photos documenting his recent wintry visit to the High Line, which I present here unedited, the better to showcase the antic epistolary style that always cracks me up. Some quick backstory: When … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, MB Maher
6 Comments
scenes from Modernism Week garden tour
I’m going to leave you this Friday with a few images from the self-guided Modern Garden Tour put on by Modernism Week in Palm Springs this past Wednesday. Leaving Long Beach at 7:30 a.m., I arrived just before 10 a.m. … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, garden visit, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Modernism Week 2019
6 Comments
some good reads
Next time you’re visiting Joshua Tree National Park, take a moment from reveling in the restorative, otherworldly sights of the desert to give thanks to Minerva Hamilton Hoyt, “hailed as the first desert conservationist and called the Woman of the … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, books, succulents
4 Comments
you are here (think warmth)
On this very wet Valentine’s Day I’m sending a love letter to…cactus. Cactus may not be what horticultural traditionalists call lovable plants, but their sculpturally adaptive, sun-addicted ways make a landscape feel warm and inviting to me any time of … Continue reading
Posted in artists, garden visit, succulents
8 Comments
friday clippings 2/8/19; Modernism Week 2019
Next week brings some welcome warmth to this chilly February with the start of Modernism Week in Palm Springs (February 14-24, 2019). Long Beach garden designer and ceramicist Dustin Gimbel, some of whose recent work is pictured above, will give … Continue reading