Category Archives: succulents
Senecio tropaeolifolius
Every once in a while I find a familiar plant grown with such sympathy for the plant’s innate qualities and needs that it feels like I’m really seeing it for the first time. Sunset Nursery, at Sunset Boulevard near Hillhurst, … Continue reading
Posted in plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Senecio tropaeolifolius, Sunset Nursery
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commercial landscape
Some commercial and business office plantings are really stepping up their game. Here’s another example of good plantsmanship I’m seeing around town. Nicely done, I think. Ribbons of succulents along stone walkways, arbutus, olives, furcraea embedded in blankets of westringia. … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, succulents
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nursery hopping in December
Pulling into a favorite nursery’s driveway yesterday, I could already see from the street it’s a madhouse. I’d completely forgotten the split personality most nurseries take on in December. The usually empty parking lot is not only full of cars, … Continue reading
winter shadow
Winter light and winter shadows naturally fill my thoughts this time of year. This marrubium is lucky to be in full sun all year. Some of the silvers are trapped during winter in a band of shade that descends on … Continue reading
some dry garden plants
When I planted this slipper plant (Pedilanthus bracteatus, from Mexico) into the back garden last October, I knew that it would necessarily change the character of the plantings surrrounding it. Everything would have to become even more dry tolerant. For … Continue reading
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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