Author Archives: Denise
OC Mart Mix needs to host a garden show
Another weekend misspent ostensibly holiday shopping (why pretend?), but in actuality just enjoying plants and landscapes, these courtesy of The OC Mart Mix. Although The OC Mart Mix was patterned after the Ferry Building gourmet marketplace in San Francisco, it’s … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden travel, garden visit, plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Agave vilmoriniana, Cornerstone Sonoma, Ferry Building Marketplace San Francisco, Inside Out 365, Kalanchoe thyrsiflora, OC Mart Mix, Rolling Greens Costa Mesa, Senecio mandraliscae, The Late Show, The Late Show Gardens
7 Comments
friday clippings 12/7/12
The tulips are planted, and now the vegetable bin in the fridge is once again restored to its rightful purpose of chilling vegetables. I went beyond the required six weeks of prechilling this year, but overchilling is not the problem … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bulbs, clippings, plant crushes, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, succulents
Tagged Agave 'Blue Flame', Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor', Agave parrasana 'Fireball', Aloe polyphylla, Annie's Annuals & Perennials, Far Reaches Farm, Gertrude Jekyll, glaucium, High Country Gardens closure, Lincoln Avenue Nursery, Native Sons plant nursery, Othonna cheirifolia, Senecio viravira, Sideritis oroteneriffae, Sideritis syriaca, silver foliage
5 Comments
flowering tobacco in December
I’m still puzzling over the winter exuberance of the nicotiana I sowed from seed early last spring. Now over 5 feet tall, the seed came from ‘Ondra’s Brown Mix,’ a selection made by Nan Ondra from her garden Hayefield. Annie’s … Continue reading
Occasional Daily Photo 12/5/12
After leaving NYC, MB Maher headed to Iceland. Only a California photographer would want to visit Iceland in December. But Maher says the light there now is “permanent Malick,” that is, what three or four hours of daylight there is … Continue reading
Posted in creatures, MB Maher, Occasional Daily Photo, photography
Tagged Iceland, MB Maher, Terrence Malick, travel
5 Comments
High Line in late November 2012
Must I really squeeze in one more post on the High Line in 2012? Have we become bored and cynical already about this dream of a garden on an abandoned railway trestle made real against seemingly insurmountable odds? (Yes to … Continue reading
Posted in design, garden travel, garden visit, MB Maher
Tagged MB Maher, Piet Oudolf, public parks, The High Line Park, threadandbones
8 Comments
plant this book
With apologies to Abbie Hoffman (’60s radical and author of counterculture best-seller Steal this Book) Via Desire to Inspire Literally, sheet mulching for the bookish set. Scanning my book shelves, I just can’t come up with a book to sacrifice. … Continue reading
Posted in design, garden ornament, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Abbie Hoffman, Desire to Inspire, sheet mulching, Steal This Book
4 Comments
how to gift wrap an agave
I had some time late yesterday afternoon so decided to dip my toe into holiday retail. In truth, all I did was look at plants. And even bought a few. For myself. This season of giving is off to a … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden ornament, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Agave 'Blue Flame', Agave 'Blue Glow', Agave desmettiana 'Variegata', Agave guadalajarana, Aloe bainesii, Aloe marlothii, Astelia nervosa, Carex trifida 'Rekohu Sunrise, Chamaerops humilis, Euphorbia milii, Ligularia dentata, mediterranean fan palm, Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum', Roger's Gardens, Variegated Tataki Grass, Yucca 'Bright Star'
9 Comments
still life with castor bean plant
The inspiration to include some seed pods from the castor bean plant in leftover Thanksgiving vases already filled with chamomile and hypericum came from this photo from thequintessentialmagazine. Nice touch with the alocasia leaf too. Like a bloody echinops, the … Continue reading
Plant portrait; Agave attenuata and St. Augustine grass
Clean, bright simplicity. Agave attenuata underplanted with variegated St. Augustine grass, by garden designer Dustin Gimbel. This tough, subtropical grass works beautifully in holding this slope, and is allowed to grow long and shaggy or clipped and tidy, according to … Continue reading
staining concrete
One of the more excruciating projects this past summer involved the tiled patio on the east side of the house, photo taken 10/3/10. The indoor tile left over from a friend’s DIY project was a mistake the day we laid … Continue reading
Posted in Department of Instruction, design, shop talk
Tagged hardscape, staining concrete
9 Comments