Category Archives: succulents
Bloom Day November 2015
A blustery day for a change, this November Bloom Day. I hope it finds you safe and warm. Daytime temperatures dropping out of the 80s have forced the realization that summer is truly over. Yesterday we cleaned the house top … Continue reading
roll out the barrel(s)
I know spiky agaves in the garden make some people nervous, but lovers of architectural plants for the dry garden can get into a lot more trouble than an agave. The golden barrel cactus has recently gotten under my skin, … Continue reading
San Gabriel Valley CSS Show & Sale
I treated myself yesterday to San Gabriel Valley’s Cactus & Succulent Society‘s show and sale at the Los Angeles Arboretum. I bought no plants this time, just circled the show tables over and over, sometimes because the show plant was … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Agave 'Snow Glow', Agave xylonacantha 'Frost Bite', Aloe melanacantha, Astrophytum capricorne var. niveum, Boophone disticha, Los Angeles Arboretum & Botanic Garden, San Gabriel Valley Cactus & Succulent Society, Urginea maritima
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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
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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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
16 Comments
bug report & EOMV
“None of the ants previously seen by man were more than an inch in length – most considerably under that size. But even the most minute of them have an instinct and talent for industry, social organization, and savagery that … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, creatures, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Adenanthos sericeus, Agave vilmoriniana 'Stained Glass', Aloe 'Rooikappie', Aloe capitata var. quartzicola., Aloe elgonica, Argentine ants, Artemisia pycnocephala 'David's Choice, Cotinis mutabilis, Crassula alba var. parvisepala, Cussonia gamtoosensis, end of month view, Eucalyptus 'Moon Lagoon', Euphorbia 'Lime Wall', Grevillea 'Moonlight', Linepithema humile, Senecio medley-woodii
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Wanda Mallen & Gary Vincent’s Fallbrook garden
The CSSA’s tour of private gardens for their 2015 Biennial Convention in June also included the 2-acre garden of Wanda Mallen and Gary Vincent in Fallbrook, Calif. This superb collector’s garden, started from scratch in approximately 1999-2000, is occasionally open … Continue reading
Wednesday clippings 8/26/15
So what’s shakin’ this muggy end of August? As little as possible, you say? There’s been all manner of weird stuff going on, including a recurring problem with street-parked neighborhood cars getting their gas siphoned. This on the heels of … Continue reading
DIY therapy
One of my boys is experiencing some painful romantic complications, which is frustrating for both of us because in grappling with the problem I necessarily have to accept the fact that my boys are now men. But he hurts, therefore … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Agave bracteosa, Strobilanthes gossypinus
13 Comments