Category Archives: Plant Portraits

back on the home front

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Denise

It’s finally happening. Miraculously, after a couple close calls resulting in an almost fatal wilt, Musschia wollastonii has survived and begun to hoist up that much-anticipated chartreuse candelabra of blooms. The Madeira Giant Bellflower must be an unforgettable sight in … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, garden travel, journal, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Aeonium 'Zwartkop', Agapanthus 'Gold Strike', Agave 'Tradewinds', Agave attenuata 'Boutin's Blue', Aristolochia fimbriata, Australian Native Plants, Calamintha nepeta 'Gottlieb Friedkund., Carex trifida 'Rekohu Sunrise, Cistus Nursery, Corokia virgata 'Sunsplash', Crambe maritima, Crassula pruinosa, Cupressus macrocarpa 'Citriodora', Cussonia gamtoosensis, Dan Hinkley, Digging Dog Nursery, Emilia javanica 'Irish Poet', Eryngium padanifolium, Eucalyptus 'Moon Lagoon', Euphorbia ammak, Far Reaches Farm, Gaillardia 'Oranges & Lemons', Garden Bloggers Fling 2014 Portland, Hayefield Seeds, Hibiscus trionum, Jo O'Connell, Leucadendron 'Ebony', Lotus jacobaeus, Mirabilis jalapa 'Limelight', Musschia wollastonii, Nan Onda, Olearia virgata v. lineata 'Dartonii, Pennisetum 'Sky Rocket', Prostranthera ovalifolia 'Variegata, Pseudobombax ellipticum, San Marcos Growers, Tagetes 'Cinnabar', Variegated Tataki Grass, Windcliff | 14 Comments

Saturday clippings 7/26/14

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Denise

Melocactus matanzanus The Orange County Cactus & Succulent Society sale is this weekend, where the buzz and gossip amongst the sales tables might very likely entice you into bringing home your first melocactus. It’s possible that the recent visit to … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged bromeliads, Danger Garden Favorite Plants, Dyckia 'Naked Lady', Eulophia petersii, Huntington Botanical Gardens, Huntington Desert Garden Conservatory, Melocactus matanzanus, Orange County Cactus and Succulent Society, Pachypodium namanquanum, Rainforest Flora, Solana Succulents Nursery, William Hertrich, Yucca aloifolia 'Purpurea' | 6 Comments

impressions of Portland gardens (in the zone of filtered sunshine)

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Denise

Since returning from touring gardens and nurseries in Portland last week, I’ve been haphazardly researching what makes the Pacific Northwest so full of great gardens and nurseries. Not expecting any definitive answer, just scrounging around for clues. Portland’s enviably soft … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, garden travel, garden visit, Plant Portraits, pots and containers | Tagged 2014 Portland Garden Bloggers Fling, Cistus Nursery, Fatsia japonica 'Spider's Web', Joy Creek Nursery, Modern Jackass/This American Life, Oregon, Pomarius Nursery, Portland, Rhus typhina Tiger Eye Sumac, Solanum pyracanthum, Willamette Valley | 12 Comments

how Alison got her stripes back

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Denise

So very glad to find a moderate-sized phormium, a true 4-footer, I was willing to overlook the fact that many of this New Zealand Flax’s leaves age into a dull olive green, losing the pale bands that are the inspiration … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Plant Portraits | Tagged Agave 'Blue Glow', Brachysema praemorsum, Furcraea macdougalii, New Zealand Flax, Phormium 'Alison Blackman', variegated plants | 3 Comments

sunday clippings 7/6/14

Posted on July 6, 2014 by Denise

I think the conversation left off with brillantaisia, the salvia look-alike I stumbled upon at the local city college. Except it’s not really a salvia but a member of the acanthaceae family. I did go back for photos and also … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, clippings, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged "Botany's New Boys" by Michael Tortorello, "Sowing a Garden One Knit Flower at a Time, Agave celsii var. albicans 'UCB', Agave x leopoldii, Aloe cameronii, artist Tatyana Yanishevsky, Brillantaisia subulugurica, Garden Designer Carolyn Mullet, Lavandula multifida, Melianthus 'Purple Haze', Paul Stamet's 6 ways mushrooms can save the world, Salvia 'Amistad', Tanacetum vulgare 'Isla Gold', TED talk, ” | 7 Comments

sunday clippings 6/22/14

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Denise

Future shock for me has arrived in the guise of an orange wristband. “Congratulations! You moved 24,995 steps, 12.07 miles, 249% of goal!” Jawbone’s UP pedometer calculates all that aimless garden puttering and tallies up some surprising stats. My orange … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged "Green is Good" by D. T. Max, 2014, Annie's Annuals & Perennials, Brillantaisia subulugurica, Cissus discolor, Commelina coelestis, Dypsis decaryi Triangle Palm, Edyn garden system, Ganna Walska, Garden Bloggers Fling 2014 Portland, Hellstrip Gardening by Evelyn Hadden, Huntington Botanical Garden plant sale June 28-29, Jawbone UP wristband, Lotusland, Musschia wollastonii, Oregon, Philodendron melanochrysum, Senecio scaposus v. addoensis, Tanacetum vulgare 'Isla Gold', The Nature Conservancy, The New Yorker May 12, Timber Press | 4 Comments

museum Sunday

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Denise

Frida Kahlo in the Sun by Leo Matiz In what now seems like the dim past, the family photo album was a holy book, kept on prominent display in the sitting room, perhaps atop the piano draped in a fringe … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, photography, Plant Portraits | Tagged cycads, Frida Kahlo, LACMA palm garden, Lepidozamia peroffskyana, Macrozamia moorei, Museum of Latin American Art, Robert Irwin | 1 Comment

Cussonia spicata and the value of plants

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Denise

I have these weird unwritten rules when buying plants. For example, $30 is usually deemed way too much to spend on one plant. It’s not a conscious rule, it’s just after checking the price, unless it’s spectacularly, once-in-a-lifetime rare, I … Continue reading →

Posted in plant nurseries, Plant Portraits | Tagged Chinese fringe tree, Chionanthus retusus, Cussonia gamtoosensis, Cussonia spicata | 14 Comments

pod love

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Denise

Garden bloggers have been giving it up for flowers, for leaves. How about some pod love? I know it’s a little early in the season for seedpods for a lot of gardens, but I happen to have dried-up, dessicated plant … Continue reading →

Posted in plant crushes, Plant Portraits | Tagged Acacia podalyriifolia, seedpods | 4 Comments

Plectranthus ‘Emerald Lace’

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Denise

Loree is talking about her favorite plant of the week today, and Pam is discussing the virtues of beautiful leaves, which of course set my eye wandering critically over a heat-ravaged landscape to find a suitable entry. Needless to say, … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits, pots and containers | Tagged Plectranthus 'Emerald Lace', shade plants | 9 Comments