Category Archives: garden travel
an hour in San Francisco Botanical Garden in April
At the Friend Gate, Ageratum corymbosum Bartlettina sordida (thanks, Mr. Feix!) with a Fuchsia magellanica. Or maybe thymifolia. I didn’t check. No time! A few weeks ago I had the rather condensed pleasure of visiting San Francisco’s Botanical Garden in … Continue reading
spring rush
Last Sunday we roadtripped up the coast about two hours near Carpinteria, where Seaside Gardens was having a “Spring Fling.” The day before, Saturday, I drove myself two hours south to check out the San Diego Horticultural Society’s spring garden … Continue reading
in a hothouse
…or a greenhouse, hoop house. Located on Long Island, NY, visited in June 2013. What I remember most was the all-engulfing moistness of the environment. Evapotranspiration so intense as to make one giddy. Which is undoubtedly why I lingered for … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, Plant Portraits, pots and containers
Tagged greenhouse, tender perennials
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notes on spring planting
Though it may not be readily apparent, there really is something positive to say about the garden in January. I’ve been cutting back the grasses, and even allowing for the dozens of poppy seedlings that are emerging and staking a … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits
Tagged Agave shawii, Arctostaphylos cruzensis, Aristida purpurea, Calamintha nepeta 'Montrose White', Constancea nevinii, Digging Dog Nursery, Dudleya densiflora, Eriogonum crocatum, Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. asplenifolius, Nancy Godwin, Perovskia 'Lacey Blue', Pinus sabiniana, Theodore Payne Nursery
15 Comments
blogger meetup at the Huntington
I should have talked less and picked up the camera more at the meetup this past Saturday at the Huntington Botanical Garden, but that wouldn’t have been as much fun as our nonstop gabfest. The occasion for the meetup was … Continue reading
the case of the disappearing hebes
I was in San Francisco recently for several days cat-sitting a charming fraidycat in the Mission district named Banksy. It was during this trip that I solved the case of the disappearing hebes, those lovely little shrubs from New Zealand. … Continue reading
Posted in garden travel, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits
Tagged "On a Sonoma Hilltop", American Conifer Society, Annie's Annuals & Perennials Nursery, Circle Oak Ranch, Flora Grubb Gardens, Fusarium oxysporum v. hebei, Gardens Illustrated, hebes, Lew and Mary Reid's garden, Monterey Bay Nursery, Noel Kingsbury, Northern California, Pacific Horticulture, Salvia 'Purple Majesty', Sara Malone, Sonoma County
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Lotusland, garden provocateur
More from that June visit to Lotusland, Ganna Walska’s 37-acre estate near Santa Barbara, California. In the comments to this post, Emily kindly provided a link to an English series “Around the World in 80 Gardens,” in which a visit … Continue reading
Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, garden travel, garden visit, succulents
Tagged Around the World in 80 Gardens, Cactus and Succulent Society of America, cactus gardens, California gardens, Donald Culross Peattie, Geoff Stein, James Van Sweden, Lotusland, Madame Ganna Walska, March-April 2015 Cactus and Succulent Journal, Monty Don, Pauleen Sullivan, writer Catherine Phillips, Ysabel Wright's cactus garden Quien Sabe
16 Comments
scenes from Lotusland; the Lemon Arbor
Since I snapped hundreds, I’ll probably be trickling out photos of my June visit to Lotusland for months to come. The Eureka lemon tree arbor, planted in 1988, is probably one of the more sedate and traditional features of Lotusland. … Continue reading
Posted in edibles, garden travel, garden visit
Tagged California, Lotusland, Madame Ganna Walska, Montecito
3 Comments
Seaside Gardens, Carpinteria, Calif.
By now it’s fairly obvious that visiting plant nurseries and gardens are two of my favorite pursuits. The ultimate in garden touring is possible when occasionally, though all too rarely, both pursuits can be accomplished at one location. The list … Continue reading