Category Archives: journal

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

a much-delayed visit to Descanso Gardens

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Denise

I was determined to attend botanist Jeff Chemnick‘s talk on plant exploration in Oaxaca, Mexico, yesterday, 7 p.m., hosted by SoCal Hort, located in an auditorium within spitting distance of Griffith Park. I had just visited his home garden/nursery in … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden travel, garden visit, journal, succulents | Tagged California oak woodland, Descanso Garden, Jeff Chemnick, Mexico Nature Tours | 7 Comments

monday clippings 2/5/18

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Denise

There’s an unexpected addition to the container garden, and not one that I’d necessarily pick out of a lineup as an especially attractive succulent, like Agave ‘Kissho Kan’ in the foreground. I encountered this little space oddity on a walk … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings, journal, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Agave 'Kissho Kan', Agave vilmoriniana 'Stained Glass', Aloidendron 'Goliath', Euphorbia lignosa, Euphorbia xanti, Kalanchoe bracteata, Selenicereus anthonyanus | 5 Comments

the week in plants 1/28/18

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Denise

Aloe striata is getting ready to bloom. The Coral Aloe is not an uncommon aloe in Southern California, but it is in my garden. Sometime during summer, as I bring plants home from nurseries and shows, this aloe inevitably loses … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, edibles, journal, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Agave 'Mateo', Aloe 'Jacob's Ladder', Aloe striata, Annie's Annuals & Perennials, annuals, Atriplex hortensis, Chiltern Seeds, Heliophila longifolia, Los Angeles Grand Park, Mangave 'Lavender Lady', Salvia 'Marine Blue', seeds, Wild Garden Seed, Women's March 2018 | 7 Comments

hebes again

Posted on December 26, 2017 by Denise

It’s winter, and as usual my eye craves big pots of rotund, evergreen orbs and cushions in the Mien Ruys, Dutch style. Closer to home, Sara Malone at Circle Oak Ranch in Northern California, makes a creative argument for the … Continue reading →

Posted in garden travel, garden visit, journal, pots and containers | Tagged evergreens, hebes | 6 Comments

winter solstice 2017

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Denise

The winter solstice is little more than a week away, on December 21st, after which point the days will blessedly begin to lengthen again. Huzzah! There will at last be more and more light, always cause for celebration, even if … Continue reading →

Posted in clippings, edibles, inspire me, journal, MB Maher, photography | Tagged Heceta Head Lighthouse, winter solstice | 8 Comments