Category Archives: pots and containers

a day of mystery plant shopping

It started off mid-Saturday morning May 1 at Ray and Netty’s plant sale at their home in Atwater Village. There in the driveway was a 3-gallon plant beckoning me with the intriguing tag “mystery euphorbia.” Ray Valentine really knows how … Continue reading

Posted in garden visit, journal, plant sales, pots and containers, succulents | 7 Comments

introducing Nicotiana mutabilis

The back of the garden is a bit crazy right now, what with the miscanthus, the flowering tobacco, Eryngium pandanifolium, Roldana petasites, kangaroo paws and others jostling to claim their allotment of soil and sun. And if that wasn’t enough, … Continue reading

Posted in journal, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | 5 Comments

recent garden distractions

Does the world distract me from my garden or the garden distract me from the world? The balance has been different at various times in my life, so I like that the relationship is flexible. Spending most of my days … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | 9 Comments

pandemic garden project

My latest time sink and a great antidote to the pandemic fidgets. It’s a little rough and a lot rustic, part of the perpetual quest to get plants massed in one area for ease of care, especially now that warm … Continue reading

Posted in journal, pots and containers, succulents | 7 Comments

Bloom Day January 2021

I may miss these reports throughout the year, but no way I’m going to skip the inaugural Bloom Day of 2021! If you’re looking for something to stream to get through this next week, I just finished and can recommend … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bloom Day, Bulbs, pots and containers, succulents | 3 Comments

Fearless Gardening by Loree Bohl; a review/giveaway

I’ve been following Pacific Northwest gardens and nurseries for decades and often fantasize about having a garden in a modified-mediterranean, 40 inches-of-rain-a-year zone 8. There’s lots of plants I’d be able to grow for the first time, but there’d have … Continue reading

Posted in artists, books, climate, design, inspire me, pots and containers | Tagged | 12 Comments

holiday shopping at The Huntington

I just got my renewed Huntington membership card in the mail. Woohoo! It’s always a relief to have that in my pocket for impromptu visits — or reserved visits, as is the case during the pandemic. (Which is an infectious … Continue reading

Posted in commerce, plant nurseries, plant sales, pots and containers, succulents | 3 Comments

Calendula ‘Touch of Red’

In Southern California, the cool-season annuals have arrived at local nurseries, the violas, stocks, snapdragons, sweet williams, nemesias, Iceland poppies, and lots more I’m forgetting at the moment. Some (or none) appeal to different garden temperaments. I’ve indulged in biennial … Continue reading

Posted in cut flowers, journal, plant nurseries, pots and containers | Tagged | 10 Comments

reshuffling some garden standbys

I edit, thin, and prune the steady accumulation of curbside and flea market finds constantly, but there’s a few stalwarts that consistently defy the purges. This Los Angeles street lamp shade has been kicking around the garden for years and … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, journal, plant nurseries, pots and containers, succulents | 5 Comments

late for Bloom Day 11/15/20

Mina lobata is late too. The Spanish Flag vine was sown at least by June — okay, I just checked the seed packet and it was sown 6/25/20. So what’s up with waiting to bloom until November? The questions never … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bloom Day, journal, pots and containers, succulents | 8 Comments