Category Archives: agaves, woody lilies
my, how they grow
Looking at the front fence, in back of which, planted along the sidewalk, is a row of box hedging, now over 7 feet tall. Height restrictions of course limit privacy options for fences along the sidewalk, but as far as … Continue reading
summer 2012 award for best-looking agave
Though they may give the appearance of being unchanging and monumental, agaves are ever in flux, whether it’s bad-leaf days from snail damage or a clean outline marred by a congestion of pups. So when an agave somehow pulls it … Continue reading
Bloom Day August 2012
Some quick photos to make it on August’s roster for Bloom Day hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. It feels slightly hypocritical to include this ceratostigma in a Bloom Day post, since last spring I single-mindedly pursued its complete … Continue reading
snapshot of August 2012
August is always a truth-telling time in the life of a garden and a good month to take a snapshot of it. The hoses have been deployed this week to deep water the trees and soak the now bone-dry soil. … Continue reading
bringing it home
Visiting first-rate plant nurseries necessarily involves purchasing plants, or so I’ve always believed — even if the purchaser is thousands of miles from home and has to shove the pots into an already bursting suitcase and then into the cramped … Continue reading
Cistus Nursery
The second installment of my recent visit to Oregon and Washington (or How I Mispronounced Botanical Latin for Six Days While Touring Gardens and Nurseries of the Pacific Northwest). My own peculiar zonal filter can’t help but color these posts; … Continue reading
summer 2012 road trip: Pacific Northwest
I find vacations in the Pacific Northwest have a lot in common with Chinese food; after being home for a few days, you’re hungry for another serving of Puget Sound, please. I’m sitting at a table in my garden in … Continue reading
a week in the PNW
Day one of a week touring gardens and nurseries in the Pacific Northwest. Here’s a clue to our first stop after landing in Portland, Oregon. Still stumped? More clues… Obviously, this can only be Loree’s incredible garden (the Danger Garden), … Continue reading
Bloom Day July 2012
I’m taking the last few weeks of July off work, which means sitting at a computer is the last thing I want to do. But miss a Bloom Day? Never! Since I’m heading out on more adventures this week, I’m … Continue reading
plant crushes
New plant crushes developed since visiting the Huntington Botanical Gardens on Saturday. For frost-free zones 10-11, from Mexico, South America, Jatropha multifida. Easy from seed, fast growing, drought tolerant shrub or small tree. Spectacular coral flowers give it the common … Continue reading