Category Archives: Plant Portraits
Fatsia japonica ‘Spider’s Web’
Love it or hate it, Fatsia ‘Spider’s Web’ can now be found locally in Southern California. Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar is carrying it in affordable one-gallons. Fatsias grow like weeds here in dry shade, so when Southern California … Continue reading
Wednesday miscellany
Progress report on Rudbeckia maxima. Snails love this rudbeckia, so I’ve been cutting out a lot of chewed-up lower leaves. Believe it or not, it seems to be forming bloom stalks already. Zone 10 can be a topsy-turvy home for … Continue reading
in a hothouse
…or a greenhouse, hoop house. Located on Long Island, NY, visited in June 2013. What I remember most was the all-engulfing moistness of the environment. Evapotranspiration so intense as to make one giddy. Which is undoubtedly why I lingered for … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, Plant Portraits, pots and containers
Tagged greenhouse, tender perennials
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Senecio glastifolius
I posted this photo Mitch took back in April 2010 under the title “Unidentified Giant Composite.” Garden designer Kelly Kilpatrick (Floradora Garden Design) helpfully provided its true name. Annie’s Annuals & Perennials has been an off-and-on source for this giant … Continue reading
Occasional Daily Weather report 3/7/16 (palms on fire!)
from The Los Angeles Times Marty, both parakeets, and I were jolted awake a little after 6 a.m., when the predicted storm slammed into town, escorted by raucous thunder, lightning, and high winds. (Nothing wakes increasingly deaf Ein.) In a … Continue reading
end of month February 2016
Since it’s the last day of February, I suppose it’s time to admit defeat and clear out all the drafts that never made it to proper posts. There’s the draft post tying in to last night’s Oscars, where I muse … Continue reading
trialing Rudbeckia maxima
Overnight rain had me up early to check out one of my favorite sights (leaves soaked in rain). After lots of trial and error, most of the plants in the back garden have earned my confidence in their ability to … Continue reading
Occasional Daily Weather Report 2/11/16
While it seems everyone else is diligently topping off their water table with generous rainfall and/or snowfall, there’s no use denying it’s already chair cushion season here. Los Angeles in February decided to go high 80s, tipping into the 90s. … Continue reading
Posted in Occasional Daily Weather Report, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits
Tagged Aloe 'Safari Sunrise', Aloe conifera, Bocconia frutescens, Chanticleer, Euphorbia atropurpurea, Glaucium grandiflorum, Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon', Helleborus argutifolius, Leucadendron 'Winter Red', Leucadendron ‘Wilson’s Wonder’, Monrovia
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notes on spring planting
Though it may not be readily apparent, there really is something positive to say about the garden in January. I’ve been cutting back the grasses, and even allowing for the dozens of poppy seedlings that are emerging and staking a … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits
Tagged Agave shawii, Arctostaphylos cruzensis, Aristida purpurea, Calamintha nepeta 'Montrose White', Constancea nevinii, Digging Dog Nursery, Dudleya densiflora, Eriogonum crocatum, Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. asplenifolius, Nancy Godwin, Perovskia 'Lacey Blue', Pinus sabiniana, Theodore Payne Nursery
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Wednesday clippings 1/6/16
One storm down, five more or so to go. For the first time in a long while, the air smells incredibly fresh. January is always the perfect time for the shocking pink blooms on Pelargonium echinatum to arrive. A “Sundiascia” … Continue reading