Author Archives: Denise
Natural Discourse January 13-February 26, 2018: Living Proof; flora, fauna & fossil fuels
“Radiant Flux,” Nami Yamamoto, 2009, hand-made paper leaves, engineered for phosphorescence “Living Proof; flora, fauna & fossil fuels,” opens Saturday, January 13, 2018, 5-8 p.m. Space 151 Levy Art + Architecture 151 Potrero Ave. San Francisco, California This month artist … Continue reading
Potted’s Eternal Gratitude Sale – last weekend
There it is, behind that gauzy curtain of Acacia iteaphylla. Potted’s City Planter, pretty much untouched since first planted. I really should trim back those lanky succulents, but overall I’m amazed at how unblemished and pristine the City Planter remains … Continue reading
clippings 1/3/18
What do you think? Can 2018 possibly get any crazier than 2017? Early evidence certainly points to 2018 getting a running head start. Here’s my own personal, crazy-killing antidote. Finding landscapes like this. And this. And more of this. Elemental, … Continue reading
hebes again
It’s winter, and as usual my eye craves big pots of rotund, evergreen orbs and cushions in the Mien Ruys, Dutch style. Closer to home, Sara Malone at Circle Oak Ranch in Northern California, makes a creative argument for the … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, garden visit, journal, pots and containers
Tagged evergreens, hebes
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bloom day December 2017
I noticed just today that the big, sprawling Corsican hellebore seeded into bricks against the south CMU fence had begun to bloom and so was eligible for inclusion in this December Bloom Day report, hosted by Carol at May Dreams … Continue reading
winter solstice 2017
The winter solstice is little more than a week away, on December 21st, after which point the days will blessedly begin to lengthen again. Huzzah! There will at last be more and more light, always cause for celebration, even if … Continue reading
Posted in clippings, edibles, inspire me, journal, MB Maher, photography
Tagged Heceta Head Lighthouse, winter solstice
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summer is overrated
Agave bracteosa ‘Monterrey Frost’ I know those are fighting words, especially depending on where you live and your opinion of winter in general, and I’m not trying to pick a fight. We all miss those long days that stretch luxuriously … Continue reading
new and semi-new plants
perky pilocereus at OC Succulents What plants have grabbed your attention lately? Last week I was chasing down a hard-to-find compact form of one of California’s native buckwheats, Eriogonum giganteum var. compactum. The Grow Native nursery at Rancho Santa Ana … Continue reading
Posted in plant crushes, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits
Tagged Acacia 'Cousin Itt', Callistemon 'Bottle Pop', Ceanothus maritimus 'Valley Violet', Chilopsis linearis 'Desert Diva', Eriogonum giganteum var. compactum, Hesperaloe 'Pink Parade', Hesperaloe ‘Desert Flamenco’, Kalanchoe thyrsiflora, Lavandula 'Silver Anouk', Mountain States Wholesale Nursery, Nicholas Staddon, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Salvia curviflora, Tagetes lemmonii 'Compacta', Theodore Payne Foundation Nursery, UC Davis Arboretum All-Stars, Village Nurseries
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autumn garden triage
I spent most of October traveling, intermittently home just long enough to sweep up piles of ash and note that the customary accumulation of a summer’s worth of city grime on leaves had been augmented by heavy particulates from local … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden ornament, garden travel, garden visit, journal, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Aloe camperi, Dichondra sericea, Echeveria purpusorum, Euphorbia stygiana, Grevillea 'King's Fire', Grevillea 'King's Rainbow', Lephechinia fragrans 'El Tigre', Lobelia fistulosa, Phyllica pubescens, Senecio palmeri
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