Category Archives: pots and containers

hebes again

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 , | 6 Comments

summer is overrated

Agave bracteosa ‘Monterrey Frost’ I know those are fighting words, especially depending on where you live and your opinion of winter in general, and I’m not trying to pick a fight. We all miss those long days that stretch luxuriously … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, Occasional Daily Weather Report, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged | 19 Comments

autumn garden triage

I spent most of October traveling, intermittently home just long enough to sweep up piles of ash and note that the customary accumulation of a summer’s worth of city grime on leaves had been augmented by heavy particulates from local … Continue reading

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postcards from Santa Barbara gardens

Ever since the area became accessible by car and rail in the early part of the 20th century, it has been a favored location for estates and marvelous gardens, among them El Fureidis, Val Verde, and Lotusland. — The Lightest … Continue reading

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some upcoming dates October 2017

I was at the Huntington last Sunday to attend a talk by author Andrea Wulf (“The Invention of Nature“) on Alexander von Humboldt. If Ms. Wulf has scheduled speaking engagements in your area, I urge you to attend. She is … Continue reading

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Bloom Day September 2017, fall-planting edition

Nothing much new to report for September Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. Anything new in bloom here is from fall planting. Okay, so technically I’m a little premature with fall planting, but patience has never been … Continue reading

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golden gardens

Doing some blog research for fall planting, I was surprised to find what a luminous phase the garden entered briefly around 2014. I’ve always been drawn to bright-colored leaves, but in this period the garden glowed as if irradiated. Chief … Continue reading

Posted in design, journal, Plant Portraits, pots and containers | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

to the kids, with love

Remember this photo from a few posts ago? The “east wing” was getting readied for my son Duncan’s engagement party. Add lights, paper lanterns, friends, family and cake, and voila! Duncan and Kristy’s engagement party last Sunday. A trip to … Continue reading

Posted in cut flowers, journal, MB Maher, pots and containers | 9 Comments

cooling down the house with a garden; a modest proposal

I know I mostly talk about plants with a micro focus trained on their singularly gorgeous attributes, like Echium wildpretii above, but with this post I’m going to pull out of that narrow focus a bit and go wider. Normally … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, design, Occasional Daily Weather Report, pots and containers | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

the August urge for going

Gardeners are by definition rooted and bound to their gardens. Leaving home can mean missing out, and we don’t want to miss a thing, especially in summer. Like this Puya mirabilis’ first bloom in my garden. Why, hello, you beautiful, … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, garden travel, plant sales, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments