Category Archives: Plant Portraits

Mina lobata, the sequel

The WordPress blogging platform that hosts AGO suffered a catastrophic system failure over the past few days. I understand very little about what caused the problem, but only know that a very nice person named Matt at Apis Networks acted … Continue reading

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garden lanterns

Seedpods of Asclepias physocarpa transformed into garden lanterns. Another “light painting” by photographer MB Maher.

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dog days of summer take toll on local nursery

I’ve been scouring local nurseries for calamint recently and stopped by Brita’s Old Town Gardens in Seal Beach, California, last week as the likeliest possible local source for Calamintha nepeta. Brita always has interesting stuff, the kind of plants the … Continue reading

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Occasional Daily Photos 9/26/12

Couple things caught my eye in the front garden tonight. Santolina ‘Lemon Fizz’ has thickened up nicely over the summer into a sturdy chartreuse bun. And one of my favorite indicators of the end of summer, the aeoniums coming out … Continue reading

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monday clippings 9/24/12

It may technically be autumn, but the high temps and torpor of summer persist. I’m feeling a bit muzzled by the heat, but stuff is still getting done. Agave parrasana ‘Fireball’ was moved to a larger pot this weekend. As … Continue reading

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Bloom Day September 2012

A stupefyingly hot Bloom Day here in Los Angeles. June and July were lovely, August and September the devil’s smithy. This heat wave is having the same effect on the streets as martial law, rendering them eerily quiet and empty. … Continue reading

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August water bill

20 percent less water usage this past August compared to August 2011. That wasn’t too terribly painful. The back garden is fairly torn up right now, but that’s all me, Edwina Shovelhands, not a result of any water rationing. The … Continue reading

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my, how they grow

Looking at the front fence, in back of which, planted along the sidewalk, is a row of box hedging, now over 7 feet tall. Height restrictions of course limit privacy options for fences along the sidewalk, but as far as … Continue reading

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something different in an alstroemeria

The Alstromeria isabellana that I brought home from Far Reaches Farm in Port Townsend, Washington, opened its first bloom in my garden in Southern California a couple days ago. Sean Hogan had pointed it out to me in a display … Continue reading

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snapshot of August 2012

August is always a truth-telling time in the life of a garden and a good month to take a snapshot of it. The hoses have been deployed this week to deep water the trees and soak the now bone-dry soil. … Continue reading

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