Category Archives: succulents

Crassula ovata ‘Undulata’ (‘Jitters’)

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Denise

I get acclimated to many of the plants I once just couldn’t live without. Novelty fades. Maybe living with splashy variegation turns out to be a bad idea, or the perfect focal point turns out to be too domineering, a … Continue reading →

Posted in plant crushes, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Crassula 'Jitters', Crassula ovata 'Undulata' | 7 Comments

Bloom Day January 2014

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Denise

Scrounging around the garden for something to report this first Bloom Day of 2014 made me realize that although nothing big and splashy was catching my eye, there’s still plenty to give bees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators micro energy drinks … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloom Day, succulents | Tagged Acacia podalyriifolia, aloes, Bilbergia nutans, Coronilla valentina subsp. glauca, Echeveria coccinea, Geranium cinereum 'Subcaulescens', Helleborus argutifolius, Nicotiana 'Ondra's Brown Mix', Pelargonium sidoides, Plectranthus | 9 Comments

Kalanchoe ‘Oak Leaf’

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Denise

Wonderful architectural bloom trusses on this 5-gallon kalanchoe at Lincoln Avenue Nursery in Pasadena. Was this a Kalanchoe beharensis in flower? The leaves at the base of the plant were difficult to see without disturbing the careful display. The San … Continue reading →

Posted in MB Maher, plant crushes, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged Dwarf Velvet Plant, Euphorbia tirucalli, John Greenlee, Kalanchoe 'Oak Leaf', Kalanchoe beharensis x K. millot, Lincoln Avenue Nursery, San Marcos Growers | Leave a comment

ghosts of gardens past

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Denise

Cleaning out old photo albums releases lots of ghosts of gardens past. Do I feel guilty and as greedy as Scrooge over all the plants that have come and gone? Not a bit. I do notice that I’ve become more … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, plant crushes, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged Anemanthele lessoniana, Centranthus ruber 'Alba', Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, Echeveria 'Black Prince', Geranium 'Dragon Heart', Geranium pyrenaicum 'Bill Wallis', Libertia peregrinans, Lophomyrtus x ralphii 'Red Dragon', Persicaria amplexicaulis, Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Golf Ball', Rose 'Chromatella', Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain', Sedum nussbaumerianum, Stipa arundinacea, Stipa tenuissima, Vitis vinifera 'Purpurea' | 11 Comments

so cold that plants are turning purple

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Denise

The cold weather is coaxing some fine seasonal coloration out of plants, especially those whose names hint to a destiny with the color purple anyway. Acacia baileyana ‘Purpurea’ deeply plummy mid ribs on the leaves of Melianthus ‘Purple Haze’ Yucca … Continue reading →

Posted in Occasional Daily Weather Report, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged "Umbrella Group: why not make room for a Schefflera?" by Robbie Blackhall-Miles, Acacia baileyana 'Purpurea', Crug Farm Plants, hardy scheffleras, Melianthus 'Purple Haze', Yucca aloifolia 'Purpurea' | 4 Comments

history of my garden, part VIII

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Denise

I decided last year that I needed to break up the big border that covers most of the back garden and carve a narrow, oblique path through part of it. Nothing formal and really just an access path, curving probably … Continue reading →

Posted in garden visit, journal, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged Coprosma 'Plum Hussy', Crassula perforata, dry-laid bricks, Dymondia margaretae, Echeveria agavoides, Geranium maderense 'Alba', Magnolia liliflora 'Nigra', paths, Paving, Plectranthus neochilus, Salvia canariensis var. candissima | 3 Comments

enter the dragons

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Denise

What they say about good bones for faces and houses applies to gardens too. Good bones will see you through some tough times. I’ve posted just a couple photos on this sweet little house and garden before. The front facade … Continue reading →

Posted in driveby gardens, succulents | Tagged butterfly chairs, desert garden, Dracaena draco, dragon trees, George Nelson bubble lamps, mid century modern, Yucca rostrata | 6 Comments

blooming kalanchoes

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Denise

Leaves, leaves, extravagantly shaped, juicy leaves. It’s all about the leaves with succulents. Or is it? There are a couple kalanchoes in bloom now I’ve been noticing around town, Kalanchoe luciae with striking vertical spires, and Kalanchoe orgyalis, with lime … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, driveby gardens, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged hell strips, Kalanchoe luciae, Kalanchoe luciae 'Fantastic', Kalanchoe orgyalis, Kalanchoe thyrsiflora, parkways, San Marcos Growers | 3 Comments

the awkward age

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Denise

My garden has lived through lots of them and will most likely continue to do so while I’m in charge. The latest awkward age involves a flowering agave and a young tree. Or maybe it will be a shrub. Neither … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged Acacia podalyriifolia, Agave desmetiana 'Variegata', aloes, Pearl Acacia | 4 Comments

Bloom Day November 2013

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Denise

By November my garden has turned into a curiosity shop of oddities and seedpods. Like the racks of antler-like blooms on tetrapanax, seemingly more blooms than leaves this years after I clipped away some of the sunburnt foliage. Limbing it … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bloom Day, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged dyckias, mangaves, Nicotiana 'Ondra's Brown Mix', Pennisetum 'Sky Rocket', Russelia equisetiformis, Salvia curviflora, Tetrapanax papyrifer | 14 Comments