Category Archives: agaves, woody lilies

Vacuuming the Sotols

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Denise

Elsewhere February seems determined to be one for the record books. Added to worries for family and friends all over the country, there’s now anxiety for the gardens and their owners all over the world I’ve come to know through … Continue reading →

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Friday, January 21, 2011

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Denise

Today was a day of mathematical simplicity, nothing too complex. Like an abacus, disparate elements slid in and out of place, adding in then subtracting out throughout the day. Work lined up for the day cancelled. Subtraction. But being home, … Continue reading →

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Deja Vu Plants

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Denise

In my garden, succulents are the deja vu plants extraordinaire. New acquisitions can look suspiciously familiar because, in fact, they have been brought home before. Maybe they became submerged under rampant growers, like the soft-leaved yucca I just unearthed when … Continue reading →

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Rediscovering Agave guadalajarana

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Denise

My memory of the name of this agave planted years ago in the front garden went as far as guada-something. Easy enough to plug in a partial search string, right? Yet searches always narrowed down to the most likely suspect, … Continue reading →

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Foliage Follow-Up December 2010

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Denise

When asked only for a show of leaves, my zone 10 garden in December can give a much less angst-ridden performance than, for example, yesterday’s post, which was drawing solely on flower output. Today I realized I forgot to include … Continue reading →

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Extraordinary Pots for Extraordinary Plants

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Denise

I was in the area for work-related business so decided to pay a late-afternoon visit to the California Cactus Center in Pasadena. I’ve had aloes on the brain since visiting the Huntington and wanted to check on the CCC’s aloe … Continue reading →

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Potting Up

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Denise

Real estate may still not be improving much, but in the garden houses are always moving, as with this Agave americana var. medio-picta ‘Alba’ that has been upsized to a new home that can be comfortably inhabited for several years, … Continue reading →

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Some Agaves and Aloes

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Denise

From a recent visit to the Huntington Desert Garden. I was quite excited to see the blue-leaved form of Agave attenuata. There’s some discussion on the nomenclature of this foxtail agave from San Marcos Growers, which indicates there’s varieties with … Continue reading →

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Glasshouse Dreams

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Denise

With the cold snap on in the western U.S., and the heat temporarily off in our home pending repairs, the Saturday after Thanksgiving found us heading for the warmth of conservatories. Last night’s temp inside the house was 57 (Fahrenheit), … Continue reading →

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One Smooth Agave

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Denise

Not just one but a regiment of smooth agaves, A. desmettiana in bloom, a dynamic but also hauntingly melancholy sight. As we agavephiles know all too well, flowering heralds their death, the definition of monocarpic. I wonder if the Museum … Continue reading →

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