Category Archives: pots and containers

Chasing Plants

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Denise

Post-Internet I’ve noticed plant desire has turned into a thinner and weaker strain now that it’s so easily satisfied. The really big desire, the kind that used to build up unrequited for years and years, is as analog as a … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden travel, plant nurseries, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Annies Annuals, Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum', Cistus Nursery, Digging Dog Nursery, Mathiasella bupleuroides, Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden, Mildred Mathias, San Marcos Growers, The Dry Garden North Oakland, Yucca aloifolia 'Blue Boy', Yucca aloifolia 'Purpurea' | 5 Comments

Occasional Daily Photo 9/3/11

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Denise

Asteeelia, you’re breaking my heart… But only because you’re so constantly, shimmeringly gorgeous. Ever-gorgeous is what you are. Allow me to sing your praises. This large pot of Astelia chathamica ‘Silver Spear’ has sat in the center of the back … Continue reading →

Posted in Occasional Daily Photo, Plant Portraits, pots and containers | Tagged Astelia chathamica 'Silver Spear, Paul Simon 'Cecilia', San Marcos Growers | 6 Comments

From Pot to Garden

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Denise

Ah, the synergy of pots and garden. Apart from the infinite aesthetic considerations, from a practical standpoint, pots can render any garden effectively zoneless or, as in my very small garden, they can stretch available planting space. In a process … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Aeonium 'Kiwi', Agave 'Cornelius', Agave desmettiana 'Joe Hoak', Agave gentryi 'Jaws', Aloe marlothii, Aloe peglerae, Kalanchoe synsepala | 8 Comments

Inter-City Cactus Show & Sale

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Denise

I went to the show, had my mind blown, took some pictures. In other words, a typical succulent show…except that I introduced myself to a best-selling author on succulents in the landscape and containers and then gushed and fawned and … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Abromeitiella brevifolia, Agave stricta, Aloe 'Coral Fire', Euphorbia poissonii, Inter-City Cactus Show & Sale, Kelly Griffin, Los Angeles Arboretum, Moringa ovalifolia, Stephania venosa | 12 Comments

Succulent Experiments: A Tutorial

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Denise

What a surprise that Apartment Therapy liked the hanging planters for succulents I blogged about recently. The ones made from…um…car jack stands. Which we just happen to have in abundance here at home because there’s a couple 1970’s Volkswagen vans … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema Botanica, Department of Instruction, MB Maher, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Apartment Therapy, Crassula expansa subsp. fragilis, Kalanchoe pumila, succulents, video | 16 Comments

Tropicalissimo Redux

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Denise

Anybody remember “tropicalissimo”? In gardening, it references a word used maybe a decade ago for the then-shocking innovation of incorporating tropicals in summer borders and containers. A fairly mundane practice now. Somewhat counter-intuitively, I’ve found these plants, the alocasia, colocasias, … Continue reading →

Posted in design, pots and containers | Tagged ' Plant Delights Nursery, Colocasia esculenta 'Diamond Head', Colocasia esculenta 'Mojito', tropicalissimo, Xanthosoma 'Lime Zinger' | 4 Comments

Occasional Daily Photo 7/29/11

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Denise

Echeveria ‘Afterglow’ and Allium senescens. This little mid summer-flowering onion is sweet consolation for an allium-less garden up to this point. Unlike me, the early-blooming, flamboyant drumstick alliums don’t enjoy a zone 10 garden and prefer chillier winters. And although … Continue reading →

Posted in design, Occasional Daily Photo, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Allium senescens, Echeveria 'Afterglow' | 2 Comments

Summer’s Bounty

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Denise

Man cannot live by tomatoes alone. (The first dahlia opened today.) There’s no way I’m going to keep the garden moist enough simply for a few dahlias to thrive, but I’d hate to face August and September without them. So … Continue reading →

Posted in Bulbs, edibles, pots and containers | Tagged dahlias, San Marzano tomato | 9 Comments

Sherman Gardens & Library

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Denise

I took the day off yesterday to check out some local nurseries for dahlias and eucomis in flower. (All my eucomis were bought as bulbs, some with leaves purportedly of varieties as dark or darker than ‘Oakhurst,’ but all instead … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, garden travel, garden visit, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged Agave 'Royal Spine', Agave ferdinandi-regis, Agave macroacantha 'Blue Ribbon', Agave ovatifolia, Begonia luxurians, Echinocactus grusonii, Eriogonum giganteum, Matthew V. Maggio, Nicolaia elatior, Pacific Horticulture, Sherman Library & Gardens, succulent garden | 7 Comments

Sean Hogan at Flora Grubb Gardens

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Denise

On Sunday, July 17, 2011, Sean Hogan of Cistus Nursery, Portland, Oregon, gave a talk at Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco, California, entitled “The Art of the Rosette.” I’ve visited Cistus Nursery twice, so I know first-hand that it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bulbs, MB Maher, pots and containers, succulents, The Hortorialist | Tagged Agave 'Spot', Agave schidigera 'Black Widow', Agave schidigera 'Durango Delight', Agave schidigera 'Shira ito no Ohi', Aloe 'Brass Hat', Cistus Nursery, eucomis, Flora Grubb Gardens, Hechtia texensis, Mangave 'Bloodspot', Mangave undulata 'Chocolate Chips', Opuntia fragilis, Plantlust, Sean Hogan, Tradescantia sillamontana, Yucca angustissima 'Southside', Yucca nana, Yucca rostrata 'Sapphire Skies' | 6 Comments