Category Archives: Plant Portraits
Toyon, California Holly
This sturdy evergreen shrub native to California, Heteromeles arbutifolia, is also known as the Christmas Berry or California Holly. Here’s why: There’s an old urban legend that early European settlers in Los Angeles, where this holly lookalike grew especially abundant, … Continue reading
Posted in cut flowers, Plant Portraits
Tagged California native plants, Cupressus macrocarpa 'Citriodora', eriogonum, Grow Native Nursery, Heteromeles arbutifolia, holiday berries, Las Pilitas Native Plant Nursery, lemon cypress, Olea europaea 'Little Ollie', Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Theodore Payne Foundation Nursery, Toyon
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counting euphorbias
Tis the season to celebrate euphorbias, since many of us will be living with or gifting/regifting one of its tribe over the next couple weeks, the poinsettia. Call me scrooge, but I’d much rather think about the ones planted in … Continue reading
Posted in MB Maher, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits
Tagged ' Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow', Annie's Annuals & Perennials Nursery, Dustin Gimbel Second Nature Garden Design, Euphorbia 'Silver Swan, Euphorbia 'Tasmanian Tiger', Euphorbia atropurpurea, Euphorbia ceratocarpa, Euphorbia characias wulfeniii, Euphorbia lambii, Euphorbia mauritanica, Euphorbia mellifera, Euphorbia nicaeensis, Euphorbia pulcherrima, Euphorbiaceae, euphorbias, Huntington Botanical Garden, John Raven, Native Sons plant nursery, Rebecca Sweet, Sarah Raven
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cussonia crazy
image found here Cussonias are a small genus from Africa and the Mascarene Islands There are maybe 25 species in the small genus known as the Cabbage Trees, and without trying too hard I’ve already brought home five of them. … Continue reading
Posted in plant crushes, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers
Tagged Annie's Annuals & Perennials Nursery, Araliaceae, Cabbage Trees, Cussonia gamtoosensis, Cussonia natalensis, Cussonia paniculata, Cussonia spicata, Cussonia transvaalensis, pachycaul, South Africa, XOTX-Tropico Nursery
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waiting out a furcraea’s awkward years
This furcraea has been kicking around in the garden, oh, such a very long time. It’s been in pots, planted in the ground, and then moved several times, frequently serving as a midnight snail snack. This summer is the first … Continue reading
extraordinary leaves
All leaves are extraordinary in a basic, photosynthetic sense, and then there are those that push the point even further. Leaves perform infinite adaptive riffs and improvisations on variegation or curve, curl, and flounce. A couple examples in my garden … Continue reading
Gastrolobium ‘Bronze Butterfly’
Before September turns the corner into fall, when my garden plans will predictably revive and become hopeful and catalogue-driven once again, it’s a good opportunity to take a clear-eyed look at the survivors. The survivors are once-treasured plants that slowly … Continue reading
yucca in bloom
What’s most likely a Yucca recurvifolia ‘Margaritaville,’ is throwing its first bloom. And here I was just telling the Outlaw Gardener that this yucca seems to have decided it’s not the blooming type. Its ears must have been burning because … Continue reading
checking out the nurseries in August
It might seem kind of pointless to check out the local nurseries in the dog days of August. A lot of the inventory can look frazzled, but roaming the mostly customer-less aisles in August, armed with sunscreen, hat, sunglasses and … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Agave franzosinii, Annie's Annuals & Perennials Nursery, Armstrong Nurseries, Brita's Old Town Gardens, Burkhard Nurseries, Crocosmia 'Solfatare', Fatsia 'Spider Web', Gerbera 'Drakensberg Gold', H&H Nursery, International Garden Center & Floral Design, Laguna Hills Nursery, Lincoln Avenue Nursery, M&M Nursery, Marina del Rey Garden Center, Monstera deliciosa, Phygelius 'Diablo', Roger's Gardens, Senecio haworthii, Sunset Western Garden Collection, Upland Nursery, Village Nurseries
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meeting plants in person for the first time
By now you’re probably wondering will this blog ever stop dining out on the Portland garden bloggers meetup. Just one more for now on the plants that really had my number. Which is undeniably an odd number, but the heart … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, garden visit, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits
Tagged Acacia covenyi, Acanthus sennii, Achnatherum calamagrostis 'Silver Spike'', Aechmea recurvata, Aeonium 'Zwartkop', Asphodeline lutea, Berkheya purpurea, Bupleurum spinosum, Cirsium occidentale, Cistus Nursery, Crambe maritima, Dancing Oaks Nursery, Eryngium maritimum, Garden Bloggers Fling 2014 Portland, hardy scheffleras, McMenamins Kennedy School, Potentilla calabra, Potentilla gelida, Potentilla hippiana
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It happened one night; August rain
I bought my first water plant Saturday, and it rained all that night. Not a downpour, but a steady drizzle. I’m not saying there’s any causal link between the two, just that they’re both rare events that happened to coincide … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Occasional Daily Weather Report, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Agave 'Mr. Ripple', Aloe 'Hercules', August garden, dark-leaved plants, east side of garden, Echeveria multicaulis 'Copper Roses', Garden Bloggers Fling 2014 Portland, International Garden Center & Floral Design, Mina lobata, Olea europaea 'Little Ollie', Pennisetum purpureum 'Princess Caroline', Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Silver Sheen', Potted For Outdoor Living, Pseuderanthemum atropurpureum 'Black Varnish', rhipsalis, Sagittaria lancifolia 'Ruminoides', Salvia guaranitica, Sticks on Fired/Euphorbia tirucalli, water gardens
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