Author Archives: Denise
bromeliads for winter
Hot enough for you? It’s over 100 degrees in Los Angeles today, so hot that even the devil has left town…(That’s the best “It’s so hot” line I’ve heard all summer, spoken by a gentleman from El Paso, Texas.) And … Continue reading
gardens without borders
This corner of my small, jam-packed garden is where it gets crazy. Okay, okay. Crazier. This east end of the garden kind of horseshoes around this collection of containers, with the main sitting area (and more containers) off to the … Continue reading
the siren call of cycads
a local Long Beach front garden, zone 10, south-facing exposure I recently chanced upon a house and garden that I used to drive by a lot more frequently. Habits change, errands take one in a different direction, and in that … Continue reading
signs of fall
Fall doesn’t announce itself ceremoniously draped in dramatic curtains of crimson and gold. We’re a little, ahem, minimalist and understated here in Southern California as far as seasonal transitions. But there are many autumnal similarities we share. Like everyone in … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Adenanthos sericeus, Aeonium 'Zwartkop', Aeonium hierrense, Agave 'Snow Glow', Agave sisalana ‘Variegata’, Aloe 'Hercules', Anemone japonica, Euphorbia ammak variegata, Euphorbia lambii, Grevillea 'Moonlight', Huntington Botanical Garden, Jim Folsom, Natural Discourse; Flora & Fauna 10/17/15, Rancho Los Alamitos
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planting details at the Reid garden
I went through my Reid garden photos again, looking for clear examples of the subtly layered plant communities that rose up around my feet as I followed the paths, scanning the garden like a hungry predator, looking down then quickly … Continue reading
Posted in books, climate, design, garden visit
Tagged "A Passionate Pursuit", American Conifer Society, Claudia West, dry garden planting, Leonotis leonurus, marthastewart.com, Mary and Lew Reid, Northern California, Pacific Horticulture, Planting in a Post-Wild World, Stipa gigantea, terraced gardens, Thomas Rainer, Tibouchina heteromala, Western Hills Nursery and Garden
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the case of the disappearing hebes
I was in San Francisco recently for several days cat-sitting a charming fraidycat in the Mission district named Banksy. It was during this trip that I solved the case of the disappearing hebes, those lovely little shrubs from New Zealand. … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits
Tagged "On a Sonoma Hilltop", American Conifer Society, Annie's Annuals & Perennials Nursery, Circle Oak Ranch, Flora Grubb Gardens, Fusarium oxysporum v. hebei, Gardens Illustrated, hebes, Lew and Mary Reid's garden, Monterey Bay Nursery, Noel Kingsbury, Northern California, Pacific Horticulture, Salvia 'Purple Majesty', Sara Malone, Sonoma County
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Bloom Day September 2015
Since I’m already running a day late for the Bloom Day reports collected by May Dreams Gardens on the 15th of every month, I’ll try to limit the repetition. September pretty much mirrors August, but here’s a couple oddballs, a … Continue reading
Lotusland, garden provocateur
More from that June visit to Lotusland, Ganna Walska’s 37-acre estate near Santa Barbara, California. In the comments to this post, Emily kindly provided a link to an English series “Around the World in 80 Gardens,” in which a visit … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, garden travel, garden visit, succulents
Tagged Around the World in 80 Gardens, Cactus and Succulent Society of America, cactus gardens, California gardens, Donald Culross Peattie, Geoff Stein, James Van Sweden, Lotusland, Madame Ganna Walska, March-April 2015 Cactus and Succulent Journal, Monty Don, Pauleen Sullivan, writer Catherine Phillips, Ysabel Wright's cactus garden Quien Sabe
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