Category Archives: journal
more talk about plants
I’m blaming it on spring. A beautifully soft, mild spring. And that rainy winter certainly didn’t hurt in rebuilding confidence. New acquisitions are now unloaded from the back of the Mini at near weekly intervals. Amazingly, this little garden swallows … Continue reading
tuesday clippings 4/23/19
The pitcher plant Sarracenia ‘Scarlet Belle’ is sending out more flowers than leaves this spring. I have no idea if this is usual, unusual, a sign of imminent demise, or what exactly. But at least the pitcher plants made it … Continue reading
garden notes 3/20/19
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
garden journal 11/3/18
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
garden notes 10/14/18
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
good riddance to July, you hot and sultry thing
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
Garden Conservancy Open Days/Mendocino/Moss Garden
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
small taste of summer
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
Hawaii on my mind
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
rainy thursday 4/19/18
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