Category Archives: pots and containers
let’s get potted for the holidays
Doesn’t that sound like a great idea? Oh, right, there’s still shopping to do. Malls, catalogues…these holiday shopping options for me are usually a) nerve-wracking b) spirit crushing c) oftentimes both. I’ve been working up near Griffith Park, off Los … Continue reading
nursery hopping in December
Pulling into a favorite nursery’s driveway yesterday, I could already see from the street it’s a madhouse. I’d completely forgotten the split personality most nurseries take on in December. The usually empty parking lot is not only full of cars, … Continue reading
winter shadow
Winter light and winter shadows naturally fill my thoughts this time of year. This marrubium is lucky to be in full sun all year. Some of the silvers are trapped during winter in a band of shade that descends on … Continue reading
Wednesday vignette
A couple of loose ideas came together this morning in a slowburn, sleepy kind of way. I’ve been envious of large stands of Agave attenuata around town, wishing I could grab a crown for dramatic inclusion in a large vase, … Continue reading
San Gabriel Valley CSS Show & Sale
I treated myself yesterday to San Gabriel Valley’s Cactus & Succulent Society‘s show and sale at the Los Angeles Arboretum. I bought no plants this time, just circled the show tables over and over, sometimes because the show plant was … Continue reading
gardens without borders
This corner of my small, jam-packed garden is where it gets crazy. Okay, okay. Crazier. This east end of the garden kind of horseshoes around this collection of containers, with the main sitting area (and more containers) off to the … Continue reading
signs of fall
Fall doesn’t announce itself ceremoniously draped in dramatic curtains of crimson and gold. We’re a little, ahem, minimalist and understated here in Southern California as far as seasonal transitions. But there are many autumnal similarities we share. Like everyone in … Continue reading
bug report & EOMV
“None of the ants previously seen by man were more than an inch in length – most considerably under that size. But even the most minute of them have an instinct and talent for industry, social organization, and savagery that … Continue reading
Wanda Mallen & Gary Vincent’s Fallbrook garden
The CSSA’s tour of private gardens for their 2015 Biennial Convention in June also included the 2-acre garden of Wanda Mallen and Gary Vincent in Fallbrook, Calif. This superb collector’s garden, started from scratch in approximately 1999-2000, is occasionally open … Continue reading
DIY therapy
One of my boys is experiencing some painful romantic complications, which is frustrating for both of us because in grappling with the problem I necessarily have to accept the fact that my boys are now men. But he hurts, therefore … Continue reading