Category Archives: journal

garden notes 3/20/19

Posted on March 20, 2019 by Denise

Yesterday I removed the diseased carcass of Agave ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue’ which lived its brief but spectacular life – until this rainy winter – under the acacia tree in the far southeast corner. You’d think having to battle for resources … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, journal, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | 6 Comments

garden journal 11/3/18

Posted on November 3, 2018 by Denise

The salvia order from Flowers by the Sea arrived early in the week in exceptional condition and has been potted up. Included in the order were the two above, Salvia discolor ‘Purple Bracts’ in the foreground, Salvia patens ‘Guanajuato’ in … Continue reading →

Posted in edibles, journal, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged aloe mites, Flowers by the Sea nursery, Salvia 'Raspberry Truffle', Salvia 'Tequila', Salvia discolor 'Purple Bracts', Salvia patens 'Guanajuato', Senecio macroglossus | 8 Comments

garden notes 10/14/18

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Denise

Bitter Cassava, Manihot esculenta ‘Variegata,’ waylaid me at the local nursery Friday while stocking up on potting soil. Just try walking by this. Not possible. Manihot grahamii, the hardy tapioca, always drops its leaves mid-winter, while the Bitter Cassava is … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings, journal | Tagged Abutilon megapotamicum 'Red', Adenanthos sericeus, Agave br, Aristolochia fimbriata, Dustin Gimbel Second Nature Garden Design, Eremophila glabra 'Kalgoorlie', Hamelia patens, Kniphofia thomsonii, Lantana 'Samantha', Manihot esculenta 'Variegata', Stapelia leendertziae | 11 Comments

good riddance to July, you hot and sultry thing

Posted on August 3, 2018 by Denise

And hello August! (what fresh hell do you have in store?) Unlike me, pedilanthus loves it when the heat and humidity are matchy-matchy numbers. I’ve been so worried that Yucca linearifolia would reject this container, which has already killed a … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, journal, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Aechmea recurvata var. benrathrii, Agave 'Kissho Kan', Agave kershovei ‘Huajuapan Red', Agave xylonacantha, Aloe betsileensis, Aloe spicata, Calocephalus 'Silver Sand', Crassula 'Garnet Lotus', Ferocactus gracilis, Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta', Nan Sterman, Pacific Horticulture spring 2018, Pennisetum 'Cherry Sparkler', Potted For Outdoor Living, Saxon Holt | 6 Comments

Garden Conservancy Open Days/Mendocino/Moss Garden

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Denise

cooler on Sunday, June 24, Mendocino Bot. Garden, a plant mix like nowhere else of conifers, maples, perennials, redwoods. Island beds designed by Gary Ratway. The buzz started spreading at the Austin Garden Bloggers Fling in May, at least among … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, design, garden travel, garden visit, journal | 7 Comments

small taste of summer

Posted on June 6, 2018 by Denise

For summer, valerian and nicotiana light up what’s mainly a planting of shrubs and succulents the remaining seasons. As much as I love intoxicating displays of summer abundance, this little garden has to remain sober and on duty all 12 … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden visit, journal, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Agave filifera ssp. schidigera 'Shira ito no Ohi', Angelica stricta 'Purpurea', Baltic parsley Cenolophium denudatum, Eryngium pandanifolium, Pennisetum 'Karley Rose', Phlomis 'Sunningdale Gold', Plectranthus argentatus, Puya laxa, salvia, Senecio medley-woodii, Senecio palmeri, Solanum valerianum 'Navidad Jalisco' | 11 Comments

Hawaii on my mind

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Denise

Because my oldest brother on the Big Island, near Hilo, has been waffling over staying, going, staying, going — what to do with the dogs? — for most of May, that’s why Hawaii is on my mind these days. I … Continue reading →

Posted in journal | Tagged Kilauea volcanic eruption 2018, Lotusland | 6 Comments

rainy thursday 4/19/18

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Denise

Would you look at that — wet pavement! The corrugated roof on the pergola starting lightly pinging about 7 a.m., and I froze stock still and listened. Could it be? The clouds seemed indecisive for a few minutes, like they’d … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, clippings, journal, Occasional Daily Weather Report, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Aloe peglerae x marlothii, Berlandiera lyrata, Fremontodendron 'Ken Taylor', Phlomis 'Sunningdale Gold', Salvia carduacea, sarracenia leucophylla 'Tarnok' | 5 Comments

this week in the garden; more silver leaves

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Denise

Silver plants have sneakily become a new obsession. I should qualify that as unfamiliar silver plants, ones I haven’t grown before, and I’ve grown a lot. (Last year’s silver crush was the Afghan fig ‘Silver Lyre,’ mail-ordered from Cistus, a … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, plant crushes | Tagged Agave celsii, Agave mitis var. albidior, Agave salmiana var. ferox 'Medio Picta', Bocconia frutescens, Centaurea ragusina, Dianthus caryophyllus 'Single Black', dry garden, Eriogonum giganteum var. compactum, Ficus afghanistanica 'Silver Lyre', Hazardia detonsa, Lavandula 'Silver Anouk', Plectranthus argentatus, Salvia pachyphylla, silver leaves | 7 Comments

friday clippings 2/16/18

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Denise

dark background is the creeping fig wall (Ficus pumila covering 6-foot high CMU wall, extending 2 feet up from the top, for a privacy-enhancing 8-foot wall) It’s been an incredibly balmy week in Los Angeles, notwithstanding a teasingly insufficient bit … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, clippings, design, garden travel, journal, MB Maher, pots and containers | Tagged California, Jay Griffith, Lomandra 'Platinum Beauty', Venice | 8 Comments