Category Archives: pots and containers

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

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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

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friday clippings 7/28/17

I’ve been in an insatiable mood for plant shopping lately. I found this variegated form of Salvia ‘Berggarten’ yesterday at Roger’s Gardens and am putting up its portrait immediately because it may be its last. This salvia and my soil … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, plant sales, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

a restored Lautner house

It’s summer, so I’ve become fixated again on windows, views through windows, breezes through windows. In my inbox recently from Dwell, this house in Desert Hot Springs caught my eye, built by architect John Lautner, a protege of Frank Lloyd … Continue reading

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clippings 6/14/17

Some quick odds and ends. This is an old photo from the Theodore Payne tour a couple months back, of Artemisia ‘David’s Choice’ and clarkia, one of those fleeting moments in spring that indelibly sears the visual cortex. Last weekend … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, clippings, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments