Category Archives: succulents
a quick visit with garden designer Kelly Kilpatrick of Floradora Garden Design
Mitch’s note to me: These are the images from Kelly’s house call — she’s such a delight — thank you for producing this! I was super early and drove by her place on my way to Market Hall for coffee … Continue reading
Posted in artists, design, garden visit, MB Maher, pots and containers, succulents
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the greenhouses at Rancho Soledad Nursery
I have quite a history with commercial greenhouses. There was a large, abandoned greenhouse at the end of my cul-de-sac’d street, the mesh netting detached in places from the rickety structure and flapping in the breeze. Through the gap in … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Rancho Soledad Nursery
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Ray Valentine’s neighborhood botanical garden
In early April, as I was leaving a garden on the Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden tour, I noted a hand-lettered “plant sale” sign in the neighborhood and swung around to have a look. I posted a photo of the … Continue reading
Posted in driveby gardens, garden visit, MB Maher, photography, succulents
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some recent driveby gardens
Documenting my enthusiasm for gardens seen on foot or driving through Los Angeles neighborhoods has migrated to Instagram, which seems more suited to a quick visual blast without background information on how such landscapes came to be. But I’m making … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, driveby gardens, garden visit, succulents
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tuesday clippings 4/23/19
The pitcher plant Sarracenia ‘Scarlet Belle’ is sending out more flowers than leaves this spring. I have no idea if this is usual, unusual, a sign of imminent demise, or what exactly. But at least the pitcher plants made it … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, journal, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Ozothamnus diosmifolius
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spring surge
In what’s become a spring ritual, I thinned out a whole bunch of poppies today (my go-to poppy, Papaver setigerum, which has been reseeding for years). And yanked handfuls of branches from the bulging honeywort, Cerinthe major purpurascens, too. When … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, shop talk, succulents
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garden notes 3/20/19
Yesterday I removed the diseased carcass of Agave ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue’ which lived its brief but spectacular life – until this rainy winter – under the acacia tree in the far southeast corner. You’d think having to battle for resources … Continue reading
scenes from Modernism Week garden tour
I’m going to leave you this Friday with a few images from the self-guided Modern Garden Tour put on by Modernism Week in Palm Springs this past Wednesday. Leaving Long Beach at 7:30 a.m., I arrived just before 10 a.m. … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, garden visit, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Modernism Week 2019
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some good reads
Next time you’re visiting Joshua Tree National Park, take a moment from reveling in the restorative, otherworldly sights of the desert to give thanks to Minerva Hamilton Hoyt, “hailed as the first desert conservationist and called the Woman of the … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, books, succulents
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you are here (think warmth)
On this very wet Valentine’s Day I’m sending a love letter to…cactus. Cactus may not be what horticultural traditionalists call lovable plants, but their sculpturally adaptive, sun-addicted ways make a landscape feel warm and inviting to me any time of … Continue reading
Posted in artists, garden visit, succulents
8 Comments