Category Archives: design
Pow! Wow! mural by Gail Werner
This is my favorite mural in my hometown of Long Beach, Calif. To me, it’s a bird perched on an agave bloom (obviously!), painted in a very graphic style reminiscent of a woodcut. I often suspect many people of being … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, design
5 Comments
making the most of it
Emotionally, this summer feels like summers when I was 12 or 13 — when I stuck close to home because I wasn’t allowed yet to get in trouble with friends with cars. I’m regressing to the point that I’ve even … Continue reading
visit to Sculptura Botanica part 1
what: in-situ installation showcasing botanical-themed ceramic work of Dustin Gimbel where: Sherman Library & Gardens when: May 15 through September 15, 2020 lunch and lecture: June 26, 2020, 11:30 a.m. and tour of the exhibit by Dustin Gimbel other venues: … Continue reading
Posted in artists, design, garden visit
5 Comments
the dappled life
So you’re planting and planting your little garden and having the best time, but because your undisciplined and eclectic taste runs to every kind and type of green life, from ground hugging to tree size, inevitably you wake up one … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, journal, pots and containers
4 Comments
the Glatstein garden by Dustin Gimbel
I knew for the past year or so that the Los Angeles Times would eventually publish an article on the Glatstein family’s Long Beach garden designed by ceramicist Dustin Gimbel a few years back. Even so, the March 31, 2020 … Continue reading
Posted in artists, design, garden visit, MB Maher, pots and containers, succulents
9 Comments
the thoroughly modern tilly
Mitch has been tagging along with Josh Rosen (the airplantman) to check out some of his custom installation work to get a sense of how Josh’s tillandsia-specific designs work in situ. In this home in the Pacific Palisades, the classic … Continue reading
Posted in artists, design, inspire me, MB Maher, pots and containers
5 Comments
channeling willy guhl
The firecracker plant (fountainbush, coral plant, among a plethora of common names) is an incredibly tough addition to a frost-free dry garden, attributes which also make it an excellent choice for flourishing in containers, which can be a rough life … Continue reading
Posted in artists, design, pots and containers
3 Comments
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
5 Comments
plants and rocks; the basics
If your idea of a good life means being surrounded by plants, chances are you love having a few rocks around too, even if only in a haphazard, barely intentional way. Perhaps small rock mementos from travels naturally seem to … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, creatures, design, essay, MB Maher, succulents
5 Comments
suburbitat
“Formed in 2001, HPEC has grown into a multifaceted organization that works to create sustainable landscapes, restore native plant communities and provide habitats for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife amid development.” Back in June a bunch of garden bloggers visited … Continue reading
Posted in climate, creatures, design, garden travel, plant nurseries, science
Tagged High Plains Environmental Center
9 Comments