Category Archives: succulents

a quick visit with garden designer Kelly Kilpatrick of Floradora Garden Design

Posted on July 1, 2019 by Denise

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 | 7 Comments

the greenhouses at Rancho Soledad Nursery

Posted on June 6, 2019 by Denise

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 | 6 Comments

Ray Valentine’s neighborhood botanical garden

Posted on May 31, 2019 by Denise

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 | 12 Comments

some recent driveby gardens

Posted on May 26, 2019 by Denise

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 | 7 Comments

tuesday clippings 4/23/19

Posted on April 23, 2019 by Denise

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 | 6 Comments

spring surge

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Denise

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 | 10 Comments

garden notes 3/20/19

Posted on March 20, 2019 by Denise

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 →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, journal, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | 6 Comments

scenes from Modernism Week garden tour

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Denise

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 | 6 Comments

some good reads

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Denise

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 | 4 Comments

you are here (think warmth)

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Denise

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