Category Archives: journal
Six on Saturday
‘Eurydice’ lilies opened this week, an asiatic with martagon-esque, downward-facing blooms. Zone 10 gardeners are reminded that lilies do not necessarily return every summer for us, so arborator cave (grower beware!) 2. The echeverias are blooming — the one above … Continue reading
Posted in Bulbs, clippings, journal, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents
4 Comments
dwarf statice and what else is new in June
The dwarf statice, Limonium minutum, are new this June. Planted along the spine of rocks laid down last November, their tight cushions send out slender stems that branch upward to hold aloft sparkling clouds of everlasting blooms, creating a gauzy … Continue reading
Posted in journal, plant crushes, plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents
11 Comments
lilies again (and time to order tulips!)
Here in dry frost-free zone 10b, grow lilies in containers. That’s what I’ve been admonishing myself for years. And that’s what I’ve been doing, without much noticeable benefit, because the bulbs rarely return a second year whether in the ground … Continue reading
Posted in Bulbs, journal, plant nurseries, pots and containers
Tagged B&D Lilies, The Lily Garden
7 Comments
new planting progress report
In November 2020 the east side of the garden saw some major renovations. The size of the lemon cypresses on the east boundary, Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Citriodora,’ had dictated the character of the planting in its root and shade shadow. After … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, plant crushes, pots and containers, succulents
Tagged Limonium minutum
8 Comments
meet Billie
She’s a little sleepy right now, which is the best time to point a camera at her. Born January 9, 2021, we picked her up on March 13. Just this morning I noticed how she’s becoming less madcap puppy and … Continue reading
what’s on the table
In the garden, the development of this little silene has been incredibly exciting, however much it underwhelms the camera. My normally sober-as-a-judge succulent garden is having a deliriously frothy moment this first week of May.
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, pots and containers, succulents
5 Comments
a day of mystery plant shopping
It started off mid-Saturday morning May 1 at Ray and Netty’s plant sale at their home in Atwater Village. There in the driveway was a 3-gallon plant beckoning me with the intriguing tag “mystery euphorbia.” Ray Valentine really knows how … Continue reading
Posted in garden visit, journal, plant sales, pots and containers, succulents
7 Comments
April garden journal
Because the Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’ I had previously tried to establish here had failed to thrive, I assumed that it was dead, not dormant, when I replanted this rocky area in November. Which was fine, because I was going in … Continue reading
Posted in journal, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, succulents
10 Comments
introducing Nicotiana mutabilis
The back of the garden is a bit crazy right now, what with the miscanthus, the flowering tobacco, Eryngium pandanifolium, Roldana petasites, kangaroo paws and others jostling to claim their allotment of soil and sun. And if that wasn’t enough, … Continue reading
Posted in journal, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents
5 Comments
clippings 3/23/21
The poppies self-sown into the new gravel area have grown so tall I wasn’t sure if they were my old standbys, the smaller statured Papaver setigerum. Blooms opening this week confirmed that indeed they are, but just gaining a bit … Continue reading
Posted in Cinema Botanica, clippings, journal, succulents
8 Comments