Category Archives: Plant Portraits

golden gardens

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Denise

Doing some blog research for fall planting, I was surprised to find what a luminous phase the garden entered briefly around 2014. I’ve always been drawn to bright-colored leaves, but in this period the garden glowed as if irradiated. Chief … Continue reading →

Posted in design, journal, Plant Portraits, pots and containers | Tagged Arundo donax 'Golden Chain, Cupressus macrocarpa 'Citriodora', Jasminum officinalis 'Frojas' (Fiona Sunrise Jasmine), Prostranthera ovalifolia 'Variegata, Yucca 'Bright Star', Yucca 'Margarita' | 6 Comments

friday clippings 7/28/17

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Denise

I’ve been in an insatiable mood for plant shopping lately. I found this variegated form of Salvia ‘Berggarten’ yesterday at Roger’s Gardens and am putting up its portrait immediately because it may be its last. This salvia and my soil … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, plant sales, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged "Maybe This Time", Aristida purpurea, Dahlia 'Twyning's after 8', Gymnocalycium ragonesei, Native Sons plant nursery, Pelargonium 'Vancouver Centennial', Pelargonium gibbosum, Salvia officinalis 'Berggarten Variegata', sideritis | 9 Comments

growing up with palms

Posted on July 8, 2017 by Denise

After checking out the CSSA sale at the Huntington recently, per usual, I roamed around the botanical gardens for a while, clutching my little box with the newly acquired Euphorbia clavigera. I must have juggled that euphorbia and my camera … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged Bismarckia nobilis, Brahea armata, Brisbane Box, Cactus and Succulent Society of America, Dypsis decaryi Triangle Palm, Emily Green, Huntington Botanical Garden, Lophostemon confertus, Southern California palms, Washingtonia filifera | 8 Comments

leaning cussonias

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Denise

Right up there with rampant vines, another example of one of my current garden anxieties is the sharp northward lean on my Cussonia gamtoosensis. Will it ultimately do a face plant or won’t it? And if it does, will it … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged Alexander von Humboldt, Cook pines, Cussonia gamtoosensis, Eryngium pandanifolium, Gamtoos River, South African plants, The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf | 8 Comments

Solanum valerianum ‘Navidad, Jalisco’

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Denise

I just don’t know what to think about this vine. First of all, let me be clear that I love the opulence of this solanum’s pendulous, grape-cluster-like performance. With its ropy swags of purply bloom, it is truly like living … Continue reading →

Posted in plant nurseries, Plant Portraits | Tagged Annie's Annuals & Perennials Nursery, Cupressus macrocarpa 'Citriodora', International Garden Center, Solanum valerianum 'Navidad Jalisco', Suncrest Nurseries, vines | 25 Comments

Salvia ‘Desperado’

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Denise

There’s an irresistible momentum that sweeps me up every time I see a great-looking but unfamiliar plant. If at all possible, it must be tracked down and brought home. And then the game begins: Where to plant it? Garden designer … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged California native plants, Garden designer Sue Dadd, Grow Native Nursery, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Salvia 'Desperado', salvias | 12 Comments

Tillandsia Tuesday

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Denise

* Tillandsia duratii has the most fragrant flower over the longest period of time. There is currently more demand than supply. * Tillandsia xerographica’s inflorescence can last up to a year. It has been overcollected in its home of Guatemala. … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits | Tagged air plants, bromeliads, California, Rainforest Flora, tillandsias, Torrance | 7 Comments

end of month fav’s

Posted on October 29, 2016 by Denise

Plants and pottery, the twin joys of life. These are the cantaloupe bowls I’ve been coveting off Dustin Gimbel’s Instagram feed for some time. He’s selling them today at the Artistic License show held at Estancia Park, 1900 Adams Ave., … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, plant crushes, Plant Portraits, pots and containers | Tagged ceramics, Dustin Gimbel Designs, Passiflora 'Flying V', pottery | 8 Comments

rainy day schedule and its effects on big, jagged leaves

Posted on October 24, 2016 by Denise

That makes two drizzly Mondays in a row. Did our collective obsession with California winter rain last year have the unintended and adverse effect of scaring it away? Drought does bring out magical thinking in me. I’ve given up on … Continue reading →

Posted in Occasional Daily Weather Report, Plant Portraits | Tagged Bocconia frutescens, dry garden plants, Mediterranean gardens | 4 Comments

TBT: Shocking Pink

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Denise

October seems a little early for the Cactus Geranium to start blooming after its summer dormancy, but it is, which occasions bringing up this old post from January 2011 in its honor. Sometime during the night, the buds of Pelargonium … Continue reading →

Posted in Plant Portraits, pots and containers | Tagged Cactus Geranium, Pelargonium echinatum, Throwback Thursday | 4 Comments