Category Archives: succulents

memorable Aloe scobinifolia

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Denise

I’m terrible with aloe names. So many unnamed and/or forgotten hybrids brought home from plant shows. But there’s one aloe I’ve recently acquired whose identity I’m betting will be unforgettable. And it happens to be in bloom, so let’s have … Continue reading →

Posted in succulents | Tagged Aloe scobinifolia, binomial nomenclature, capitate inflorescence, fall-blooming aloes, Somalian Aloe | 5 Comments

autumn sun

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Denise

I tell you, since sunlight has once again become transformed from merciless enemy into the most charming and distracting friend, I can’t sit at my desk for more than five minutes without jumping up to watch it play on leaves, … Continue reading →

Posted in Occasional Daily Weather Report, succulents | Tagged aeoniums, aloes | 7 Comments

blue fence

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Denise

Double-sided, dog-eared redwood fence, you win. Smug, aren’t you? You know I can’t afford to replace you. Over the years I’ve stained you blue (twice), stenciled you in scrolls, but to no avail. There you stand, a blue, stenciled, dog-eared … Continue reading →

Posted in design, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Beaucarnea recurvata, bromeliads, Cupressus macrocarpa 'Citriodora', cussonia, dog-eared redwood fencing, fences, graptoveria, Hardiebacker cement board, Ponytail palm, Potted's City Planter, rhipsalis, salvage, Schefflera actinophylla 'Soleil' | 10 Comments

Natural Discourse: Light & Image 2014, an epilogue

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Denise

Ever wonder when our buildings are going to have the photosensitivity and photoreactivity of plants? Dale Clifford, with his focus on biomimetics applied to architecture, is on the case, investigating the possibility of designing a photoreactive brick inspired by the … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, Department of Instruction, MB Maher, photography, science, succulents | Tagged Dale Clifford, Folly Bowl, Garden designer Sue Dadd, glass artist Christian Thornton, Harvard's Ware Collection of Glass Plants, interactive computer programming, Interactive Programmer John Carpenter, James Griffth, Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Marion Brenner, MB Maher, Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore, Natural Discourse: Light & Image, Richard Schulhof, Roger Hangarter, Shirley Watts, Silverlake Farms, terraced gardens, University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley, Ware Collection Manager Jenny Brown, Xaquixe Glass Innovation Studio | 7 Comments

Pedilanthus bracteatus, planted

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Denise

One of the best things about fall is being able to dig again. Since it’s cooled down, I’ve been digging in the vegetable garden plot and can’t resist moving things around at home too, such as this tall, lanky succulent … Continue reading →

Posted in succulents | Tagged Euphorbia bracteata, fall planting, Harpochloa falx 'Compact Black, Pedilanthus bracteatus | 6 Comments

Bloom Day October 2014

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Denise

Guest-hosted by Evie the Cat. Not another Bloom Day…and you’ve got nuthin’ Wait, I got it! Why don’t you show them your nerines?* Let’s see what else we’ve got… Evie, those aren’t blooms! I better take over. Bloom on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloom Day, Bulbs, creatures, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Emilia javanica 'Irish Poet', Evie the cat, fall-blooming bulbs, Manihot esculenta 'Variegata', Nerine sarniensis, Salvia 'Love and Wishes', Senecio anteuphorbium, Solanum pyracanthum, South African bulbs | 8 Comments

Culver City Cactus Tower

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Denise

Yes, it’s true, I’ve been prowling craigslist, hoping to stumble upon dream listings like “free fence post cactus!” or “unwanted cactus, you dig and haul away.” I want to line the east fence with large containers of mature succulents, none … Continue reading →

Posted in design, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Cactus Tower, California, Craigslist, Culver City, Eric Owen Moss Architects, Lemaireocereus marginatus, Marginatocereus marginatus, Mexican Fencepost Cactus, Pachycereus marginatus, Stenocereus marginatus | 13 Comments

friday agave love

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Denise

I had a paycheck a couple weeks back that was bigger than expected, so that’s when my ongoing cold inspection of every variegated octopus agave on offer around town turned into hot acquisition. Always expensive, always a little bit beat … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Agave franzosinii, Agave gypsophila 'Ivory Curls', Agave vilmoriniana 'Stained Glass', Agave x leopoldii, Cante Institute and Botanic Garden in San Miguel de Allende, Charles Glass, Guanajuato, International Garden Center, Mexico, octopus agave, potted agaves, San Marcos Growers, variegated agaves | 11 Comments

waiting out a furcraea’s awkward years

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Denise

This furcraea has been kicking around in the garden, oh, such a very long time. It’s been in pots, planted in the ground, and then moved several times, frequently serving as a midnight snail snack. This summer is the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta' | 6 Comments

terraced gardens and the Cow Horn agave

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Denise

I love terraced gardens, with their multiple shifting perspectives from up, down, side to side. I can probably trace this appreciation to an aunt’s hilltop home in the harbor town of San Pedro, Calif. My dad’s sister had a house … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, driveby gardens, succulents | Tagged Agave 'Nova', Agave bovicornuta, agave garden, Dracaena draco, Echeveria agavoides, Euphorbia tirucalli, Kalanchoe luciae ‘Fascination’, Kalanchoe tomentosa, terraced gardens, terracing, Yucca rostrata | 10 Comments