Category Archives: journal
the garden stories we tell
It always amazes me how what was just hours before a scene of mayhem in the garden can look so calm and serene just a few moments after the mulch settles. Right where those little Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Beach Ball’ now … Continue reading
Posted in design, garden visit, journal, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents
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revisiting the class of July 2014; (where are they now?)
I love massing one kind of echeveria in pots and letting them multiply like crazy. Echeveria lilacina has completely filled in at the base of the shaving brush tree, Pseudobombax ellipticum. One E. liliacina in bloom is a novelty; over … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, pots and containers, succulents
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White Point Nature Preserve; landscape interrupted
White Point Nature Preserve in San Pedro, CA is a remarkable gift of public open space nestled into 100 acres of bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It’s a landscape that visibly bears the marks of tumultuous human endeavors spanning at … Continue reading
Posted in garden visit, journal, plant sales
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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
Posted in journal
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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
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, journal, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Ozothamnus diosmifolius
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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
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
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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
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
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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
Posted in climate, design, garden travel, garden visit, journal
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