Category Archives: journal

February scrapbook

Tracing the trajectory of enthusiasms on the blog since 2010, one month at a time… 2/26/10 — a wildflower meadow was a fleeting, transitional feature of a local medical center. February 25, 2011, this weird aroid had my attention. It … Continue reading

Posted in blog, journal, Plant Portraits | 3 Comments

the agave’s gambit

 What sets them apart is that they are monocarpic, they die after flowering once, and, they can take up to 30 years or better, depending on species and growing conditions, to flower…The demand for carbohydrate is high during this period.  … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, cut flowers, journal | Tagged | 11 Comments

swept away

Busy week, weather-wise, democracy-wise. There was a sweet piney scent to the air the morning of the 19th, which meant the wind had shifted and was coming from the east. I smelled it before checking the weather vane, which confirmed … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, design, journal, Occasional Daily Weather Report, succulents | 5 Comments

clippings January 5, 2021

Happy New Year news: We’re waitlisted for a corgi puppy with an Oregon breeder! The arrangement seems nebulous at best, but it’s the closest we’ve come to envisioning life with another dog since Ein shared his life with us, our … Continue reading

Posted in clippings, journal | 7 Comments

Calendula ‘Touch of Red’

In Southern California, the cool-season annuals have arrived at local nurseries, the violas, stocks, snapdragons, sweet williams, nemesias, Iceland poppies, and lots more I’m forgetting at the moment. Some (or none) appeal to different garden temperaments. I’ve indulged in biennial … Continue reading

Posted in cut flowers, journal, plant nurseries, pots and containers | Tagged | 10 Comments

reshuffling some garden standbys

I edit, thin, and prune the steady accumulation of curbside and flea market finds constantly, but there’s a few stalwarts that consistently defy the purges. This Los Angeles street lamp shade has been kicking around the garden for years and … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents | 5 Comments

late for Bloom Day 11/15/20

Mina lobata is late too. The Spanish Flag vine was sown at least by June — okay, I just checked the seed packet and it was sown 6/25/20. So what’s up with waiting to bloom until November? The questions never … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bloom Day, journal, pots and containers, succulents | 8 Comments

privacy issues (or what kept me busy Election Week 2020)

And so the lemon cypresses (Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Citriodora’ or Golden Monterey Cypress) came down last Sunday, November 1st. I couldn’t bear to watch the removal of the last two and hid out in the office. They were excellent privacy screens … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, pots and containers, succulents | 10 Comments

Celosia argentea ‘Cramer’s Amazon’

There’s been a couple of standout plants new to my garden this year, and this vibrant celosia is emphatically one of them. From Annie’s Annuals & Perennials, it was planted from 4-inch pots in August and grew steadily, like it … Continue reading

Posted in journal, Plant Portraits, succulents | 6 Comments

refocusing on succulents

More notes on micro-moves in my small back garden, mostly having to do with a succulent-forward mindset for fall/winter here in zone 10. If you scroll down to the previous post, where I mention having to move an aloe because … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, pots and containers, succulents | 9 Comments