Author Archives: Denise
back at the ranch
All day long this past work- and appointment-filled Wednesday I clung to the idea of fitting in a short visit to Rancho Los Alamitos. I’d heard there were some changes with the barns, and there was a new foal, all … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, garden ornament, garden travel, garden visit, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Agave franzosinii, Alexander Cassatt, Beaumontia grandiflora, California rancho period, Ficus macrophylla, Florence Bixby, Florence Yoch, Frederick Law Olmstead, historical preservation, Huntington Desert Garden, Mary Cassatt, Moreton Bay Fig tree, Penn Station, Rancho Los Alamitos, Rosa banksiae 'Lutea', Shire draught horses, Solandra maxima, William Hertrich
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Modernism Week in Palm Springs
It’s Modernism Week in Palm Springs, so what architectural gem did I visit? A Wexler steel house? Maybe a Neutra? Nope, but I did visit a cactarium, the world’s first. The cactarium belongs to the Moorten Botanical Garden, a small, … Continue reading
Bloom Day February 2014
I wonder if I’d get tired of a garden with nothing but chartreuse flowers for months on end. I suppose it’s possible. Helleborus argutifolius. Tough and beautiful, doesn’t complain, doesn’t expect any special treatment. All stellar attributes. Incredibly promiscuous in … Continue reading
Posted in Bloom Day, succulents
Tagged Annie's Annuals & Perennials, Brachysema praemorsum, dyckia, Echeveria agavoides, Euphorbia nicaeensis, Euphorbia rigida, Euphorbia seguieriana ssp.niciciana, Helleborus argutifolius, Lavandula multifida, Papaver rupifragum, Phlomis lanata, Salvia pulchella x involucratya
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mon petit chou
Members of the cabbage family were especially alluring at my community garden yesterday. No wonder “my little cabbage” is a French expression of affection. This dry, sunny winter seems to agree with them. Such a good-looking family. Exquisite chartreuse florets … Continue reading
Posted in edibles
Tagged brassicas, cabbage family, community gardens, organic gardens, Romanesco broccoli, winter vegetables
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echeverias in a vase
Valentine’s Day quiz: A small vase holds the short stem of a ruffly rosette that’s not a flower. What can it be? a) some kind of kale b) I don’t know, but whatever it is it’s monstrous and obscene c) … Continue reading
aloe, unidentified
I foolishly took down a listing on the blog of “Recently Purchased Plants,” because its length was getting embarrassing. Now I find I’ve simply traded one annoying sensation for another, and that is chagrin at not knowing the name of … Continue reading
riad means garden
It’s February, so thoughts naturally turn to travel, escape, adventure. But I’m not going anywhere at the moment, so I look harder, stare longer, at local scenes, hoping to squeeze something new and startling out of familiar sights. But walking … Continue reading
Posted in climate, design, Occasional Daily Photo
Tagged Morocco, riad, Taroudant, travel
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shelves again
It’s true, I’m fixated on shelves. I love how they can lend a veneer of intention to one’s magpie tendencies. With the spring plant sales not far off, I’m getting ready to make some new shelving to hang on the … Continue reading
Hardenbergia violaceae, the Happy Wanderer
This smallish evergreen vine, also known as the Happy Wanderer, is in bloom around town, always a surprising sight for February. It’s a tough little number in the pea family from eastern Australia that lays low all year, unnoticed, in … Continue reading