Author Archives: Denise
so cold that plants are turning purple
The cold weather is coaxing some fine seasonal coloration out of plants, especially those whose names hint to a destiny with the color purple anyway. Acacia baileyana ‘Purpurea’ deeply plummy mid ribs on the leaves of Melianthus ‘Purple Haze’ Yucca … Continue reading
Posted in Occasional Daily Weather Report, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, succulents
Tagged "Umbrella Group: why not make room for a Schefflera?" by Robbie Blackhall-Miles, Acacia baileyana 'Purpurea', Crug Farm Plants, hardy scheffleras, Melianthus 'Purple Haze', Yucca aloifolia 'Purpurea'
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flea market prep
I had so much fun yesterday organizing for the flea market this Sunday. Tapping poppy seeds into packets, gathering up all the lab beakers into a partitioned wooden box for a safe journey, making bunches of dried poppy seedpods to … Continue reading
history of my garden, part VIII
I decided last year that I needed to break up the big border that covers most of the back garden and carve a narrow, oblique path through part of it. Nothing formal and really just an access path, curving probably … Continue reading
Posted in garden visit, journal, Plant Portraits, succulents
Tagged Coprosma 'Plum Hussy', Crassula perforata, dry-laid bricks, Dymondia margaretae, Echeveria agavoides, Geranium maderense 'Alba', Magnolia liliflora 'Nigra', paths, Paving, Plectranthus neochilus, Salvia canariensis var. candissima
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Sunday clippings 12/8/13
(baby, it’s cold outside…) The cold front that’s been scaring the bejeezus out of Central Valley citrus growers hit new lows last night. The back garden temperature gauge registered 40 degrees at 7ish a.m., but that’s our moderating coastal influence … Continue reading
a very merry flea
Where & When: Find us Sunday, December 15, 2013, at the Long Beach Antique Market. It opens early (6:30 a.m.!), so it won’t take too big of a bite out of your day. Who: Me, garden designer Dustin Gimbel (non-secateur), … Continue reading
Occasional Daily Photo 12/4/13
These gazanias were pulled up last spring to make room for the manfredas, but obviously some roots escaped my trowel. whoa. I’m rubbing my eyes after looking at just two flowers. Imagine fields of them in South Africa. I have … Continue reading
enter the dragons
What they say about good bones for faces and houses applies to gardens too. Good bones will see you through some tough times. I’ve posted just a couple photos on this sweet little house and garden before. The front facade … Continue reading
blooming kalanchoes
Leaves, leaves, extravagantly shaped, juicy leaves. It’s all about the leaves with succulents. Or is it? There are a couple kalanchoes in bloom now I’ve been noticing around town, Kalanchoe luciae with striking vertical spires, and Kalanchoe orgyalis, with lime … Continue reading
giving thanks for rain
a very polite and well-timed rain arrived after the Thanksgiving holiday, sometime after midnight. On Wednesday I brought in chairs that summered in the garden for holiday duty. The new rain gutters gurgled musically as they efficiently carried rain away … Continue reading
where would Holly Golightly keep her tillandsias?
For the holidays, it’s okay to ditch the earnest glass orbs that imprison tillandsias the rest of the year and take a leaf from Holly Golightly’s decorating book, the one that epitomizes her insouciant glamour. The one each of us … Continue reading