Category Archives: succulents

the week in plants 1/28/18

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Denise

Aloe striata is getting ready to bloom. The Coral Aloe is not an uncommon aloe in Southern California, but it is in my garden. Sometime during summer, as I bring plants home from nurseries and shows, this aloe inevitably loses … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, edibles, journal, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Agave 'Mateo', Aloe 'Jacob's Ladder', Aloe striata, Annie's Annuals & Perennials, annuals, Atriplex hortensis, Chiltern Seeds, Heliophila longifolia, Los Angeles Grand Park, Mangave 'Lavender Lady', Salvia 'Marine Blue', seeds, Wild Garden Seed, Women's March 2018 | 7 Comments

French chateau succulent garden

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Denise

There I was, biking through French chateau country, rounding a bend in the zig-zag roads stitched with Lombardy poplars. And just as I was brushing the wind-blown hair out of my face, doing my best impersonation of Jeanne Moreau in … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, driveby gardens, succulents | Tagged Aloe thraskii, COR-TEN steel, Echinocactus grusonii, Euphorbia ammak var. variegata, Euphorbia mauritanica, Euphorbia tirucalli, front gardens, Long Beach, Lophocereus schottii, Palo Verde (cercidium) | 11 Comments

summer is overrated

Posted on November 25, 2017 by Denise

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 →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, Occasional Daily Weather Report, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Aeonium balsamiferum | 19 Comments

autumn garden triage

Posted on November 4, 2017 by Denise

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 | 10 Comments

some upcoming dates October 2017

Posted on October 19, 2017 by Denise

I was at the Huntington last Sunday to attend a talk by author Andrea Wulf (“The Invention of Nature“) on Alexander von Humboldt. If Ms. Wulf has scheduled speaking engagements in your area, I urge you to attend. She is … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, clippings, plant sales, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged "Natural Discourse", a, Andrea Wulf's The Invention of Nature, Artistic License Fair, Cornerstone Sonoma, Dr. Alejandro de Avila, Dustin Gimbel, Fullerton Arboretum, Huntington Botanical Garden, LA County Arboretum fall plant sale, Mediterranean Garden Society, Oaxaca Ethnobotanical Garden, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA initiative, San Diego Botanic Garden, Shirley Watts, Theodore Payne Foundation Nursery, U.C. Riverside Botanic Garden, Visual Voyages | 6 Comments

Sunday clippings 9/3/17

Posted on September 3, 2017 by Denise

Did the Powerball mania descend on your home too a couple weeks back? Just because I never buy Powerball or lottery tickets, magical thinking really kicks in when news of the big jackpots reaches even my normally oblivious state of … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, clippings, design, garden travel, garden visit, succulents | Tagged Austin Val Verde, Casa del Herrero, Isabelle Greene, Laure Joliet, Mediterranean Garden Society 23rd Annual General Meeting, Montecito, Toro Canyon House | 7 Comments

the August urge for going

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Denise

Gardeners are by definition rooted and bound to their gardens. Leaving home can mean missing out, and we don’t want to miss a thing, especially in summer. Like this Puya mirabilis’ first bloom in my garden. Why, hello, you beautiful, … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, garden travel, plant sales, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Aloe elgonica, Bergamo, Inter-City Cactus Show & Sale, International Mtg of the Landscap and Garden, Italy, Madrid's Desert City, Perennial Plant Conference 2017, Puya laxa, Puya mirabilis, Rainforest Flora, South Bay Bromeliad Associates, Tillandsia capitata 'Roja' | 8 Comments

friday clippings 7/28/17

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Denise

I’ve been in an insatiable mood for plant shopping lately. I found this variegated form of Salvia ‘Berggarten’ yesterday at Roger’s Gardens and am putting up its portrait immediately because it may be its last. This salvia and my soil … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, plant sales, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged "Maybe This Time", Aristida purpurea, Dahlia 'Twyning's after 8', Gymnocalycium ragonesei, Native Sons plant nursery, Pelargonium 'Vancouver Centennial', Pelargonium gibbosum, Salvia officinalis 'Berggarten Variegata', sideritis | 9 Comments

Sunnylands

Posted on July 23, 2017 by Denise

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Cinema Botanica, garden travel, garden visit, succulents | Tagged James Burnett, Nowness, Sunnylands | 7 Comments

a restored Lautner house

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Denise

It’s summer, so I’ve become fixated again on windows, views through windows, breezes through windows. In my inbox recently from Dwell, this house in Desert Hot Springs caught my eye, built by architect John Lautner, a protege of Frank Lloyd … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, garden travel, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged boutique hotels, desert gardens, Dwell, John Lautner, mid century modern | 7 Comments