Category Archives: agaves, woody lilies

Saturday’s Clippings 4/28/12

I enjoyed this article very much earlier in the week, well worth a Sunday read: “Any patch of earth, large or small, turns out to be a mad surprise party of species — fluid, unpredictable and wild — and a … Continue reading

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221 North Figueroa Street, Los Angeles

From the tenth floor looks like this: And at ground level. Aloes, furcraea, Kalanchoe thyrsiflora, Senecio mandraliscae, Dichondra argentea. One of the most successful public plantings of succulents I’ve seen around town. It’s been at least five years since I … Continue reading

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back in a few

While we’re away for a couple days for the San Francisco Flower & Garden show, Agave ‘Mr. Ripples’ will have to take over chin-scratching duties. Don’t wear him out, Joseph, okay? Good or bad, inspired or tired, garden shows are … Continue reading

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Foliage Followup March 2012

And then there’s the dodge of leaving projects directly underfoot so you’ll theoretically have no choice but to finish them. Does this trick ever work for anyone else? I just end up with a lot of stuff underfoot. Like these … Continue reading

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winter walkabout

Les of A Tidewater Gardener frequently posts some of the most beautiful landscape photography to be found on garden blogs. On his blog you may be introduced, as I was, to John Irving-esque names of natural phenomena like The Great … Continue reading

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blue/yellow/green

Where were we? I’ve been working at the day job like a navvy, trying to clear some time for spring garden visits, shows and whatnot. But the garden in March initiates a measured sequence of distractions, which can really mess … Continue reading

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Hazel White: Aesthetics of Inundation

UC Berkeley Botanical Garden’s symposium “Natural Discourse” held February 10, 2012, has been constantly in my thoughts this past week, whether riding the train, driving freeways, staring at the garden. I’d never visited UCBG before and found the physical location … Continue reading

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mid-week garden jaunt

There is a beloved, family-owned nursery in Pasadena that, over the past couple years, has become breathtakingly expensive. My now-20-foot Chinese fringe tree was bought here as a sapling they raised from seed. Many of my agaves were found here, … Continue reading

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phoenix plants

First bloom on little Pelargonium echinatum, which I wrote about last January here. That its gnarled, dessicated branches somehow put on this performance every January is like getting a sneak preview of spring in a 6-inch pot. And oh, happy … Continue reading

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percolating

The garden continues to percolate along in a quiet January fashion. Poppies, lunaria, Orlaya grandiflora, and Geranium maderense seem to be what’s on the menu for spring — their seedlings are everywhere. A nice problem to have and easy to … Continue reading

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