Category Archives: Plant Portraits

orange and blue

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Denise

I love garden surprises. Sure, there is some planning involved, but because the garden supports a collecting habit, the big picture is usually uncertain and often a mixed bag. What the collecting id of my psyche is up to all … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged Agapanthus 'Gold Strike', Agave 'Dragon Toes', Aloe cameronii, Aloe elgonica, Arctotis 'Opera', Australian Plants Nursery, Eucalyptus 'Moon Lagoon', Glaucium grandiflorum, Isoplexis isabelliana, Osteospermum 'Zion Orange', Phygelius 'Diablo', Plectranthus neochilus, Sphaeralcea 'Newleaze Coral', Stachys 'Bella Grigio' | 6 Comments

Wednesday clippings 4/15/15 (water on the brain)

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Denise

Finally, a chance to spend some time with the blog again. There’s been lots of reading to catch up on, after the guv dropped that bombshell. (Pass the almonds.*) One of the best sources of information I’ve found was right … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, books, Bulbs, climate, clippings, Plant Portraits, pots and containers | Tagged Agave franzosinii, and Bart O’Brien, Australia, Berkheya purpurea, Beth Chatto's The Dry Garden, Bob Perry, Caesalpinia gilliesii, California drought, Carol Bornstein, Cistus Nursery, David Fross, dry garden, Dustin Gimbel Second Nature Garden Design, Emily Green Chance of Rain, Emily Green's After the Lawn, Hymenolepis parviflora, KCET In-Ground Gardens, Lambley Nursery, Landscape Plants for California Gardens, lawn rebate programs, Long Beach City College Dept of Horticulture, Mark Bittman, Pacific Horticulture, Reimagining the California Lawn, Sphaeralcea 'Newleaze Coral', Verbascum undulatum | 7 Comments

poppy days

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Denise

The Dwarf Breadseed Poppy is carrying the banner for spring here. Quite silky banners too. No stranger to the blog, posts on this poppy go back to 2010. The above photo is from 2011. And no disrespect intended for California’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged Cirsium occidentale, Papaver setigerum, spring wildflowers | 7 Comments

Echeveria ‘Opal Moon’

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Denise

I’ve been passing this echeveria around all over town (Gail, Kris), so it’s a good time to discuss what it is and what it isn’t. It is not one of those tight, amazingly concentric echeverias like imbricata that draw you … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits, succulents | Tagged Echeveria 'Opal Moon' | 5 Comments

this week in plants

Posted on March 28, 2015 by Denise

My Portland friend Loree at Danger Garden collects impressions of favorite plants at the end of the month, so I put together a contribution of what’s catching my eye this week. I’m enjoying how the Verbascum bombyciferum echoes the rosette … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Abutilon venosum, Agave 'Dragon Toes', Agave celsii var. albicans 'UCB', Albuca maxima, Canna indica, Cistus 'Snow Fire', Crambe maritima, dyckia, Echium simplex, Hymenolepis parviflora, Manihot grahamii, Phlomis lanata, Solanum pyracanthum, Sonchus congestus, Verbascum bombyciferum | 4 Comments

Salvia ‘Love & Wishes’ (a salvia revue)

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Denise

Yes, another salvia post. (You’re looking at a person for whom the ’90s publication of Betsy Clebsch’s master work A Book of Salvias, was a life-altering event.) The two new salvias in my garden are so far living up to … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged A Book of Salvias, Betsy Clebsch, Salvia 'Amistad', Salvia 'Love and Wishes', Salvia 'Waverly', Salvia canariensis, Salvia chiapensis, Salvia mexicana 'Limelight' | 5 Comments

Gerbera ‘Drakensberg Gold’ and Elymus ‘Canyon Prince’

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Denise

I’ve gradually been filling the garden with mostly shrubs, grasses and succulents. Very few perennials, with just a couple exceptions, like kangaroo paws. And I mentioned back in August finding some of this newish gerbera hybrid in gold/orange. The pink … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged Australian Native Plants Nursery, Barberton, Elymus 'Canyon Prince', Eucalyptus 'Moon Lagoon', Gerbera 'Drakensberg Carmine', Gerbera 'Drakensberg Gold', Gerbera Park, Jo O'Connell, Kalanchoe hildebrandtii, Peter Ambrosius, South Africa | 5 Comments

some kangaroo paws

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Denise

Anigozanthos is becoming as common as agapanthus in Southern California, but I’m still a fan. Blooms for months, fine on the dry side, handles full sun, dramatically vertical. You’d think there’d be a huge selection available. But it’s pretty much … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged Anigozanthos 'Big Red', Anigozanthos 'Harmony', Anigozanthos 'Little Jean', Anigozanthos 'Yellow Harmony', Argemone munita, Australian plants, Carex trifida 'Rekohu Sunrise, Helicotrichon sempervirens, Lomandra 'Breeze', Lomandra 'Lime Tuff', Macropidia fuliginosa | 6 Comments

floral fireworks

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Denise

Oooh…it looks just like…Calluna vulgaris ! At fireworks shows, I’m the one that keeps up a running commentary of free associations, so this “Flowerwork” by artist Sarah Illenberger for The Plant journal was an instant hit with me. From her … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, photography, Plant Portraits | Tagged "Flowerwork", Sarah Illenberger, The Plant journal | 1 Comment

tetrapanax in bloom

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Denise

I know a lot of Tetrapanax papyrifer in zones colder than my zone 10 have their blooms regrettably cut short by winter. Let me just ease your zonal envy a bit, as you gaze on these bodacious panicles, and fully … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged Arundo donax 'Golden Chain, Tetrapanax papyrifer | 15 Comments