Monthly Archives: August 2017

Re-post: Amsterdam houseboat gardens

Posted on August 31, 2017 by Denise

In the aftermath of the 500-year storm event in Texas and the horrendous suffering it has inflicted, offering lovely houseboat scenes may seem overly naive, if not downright cruel, but just try not to dwell on the design issues that … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, design, MB Maher | Tagged "Houston's Flood is a Design Problem", The Atlantic | 3 Comments

to the kids, with love

Posted on August 30, 2017 by Denise

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

the Virginia Robinson Garden

Posted on August 24, 2017 by Denise

There’s always a local, hometown garden or two that we never get around to visiting, right? And that holds true even in garden-starved Southern California. The Virginia Robinson Garden in Beverly Hills has been written and rewritten in seemingly vanishing … Continue reading →

Posted in climate, design, garden visit | Tagged Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, Austin Val Verde, Beverly Hills, Charles Gibbs Adams, early 20th century estate gardens, Friends of Robinson Gardens, Virginia Robinson | 14 Comments

Bloom Day August 2017

Posted on August 15, 2017 by Denise

August is a mixed bag in the garden, with parts of the garden exuberantly bulging out of bounds while other areas grow threadbare. Bocconia and tetrapanax share the award for most frequent dropping of big, yellowing leaves, and the melianthus … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloom Day | Tagged Aloe 'Cynthia Giddy', Berlandiera lyrata, Chirita flavimaculata, Crithmum maritimum, Dahlia 'Twyning's after 8', Eryngium pandanifolium, Grevillea 'Moonlight', Lavandula 'Goodwin Creek Grey', Melinus nerviglumis, Passiflora 'Flying V', Rudbeckia triloba, Solanum valerianum 'Navidad Jalisco', Stipa ichru, The Bold Dry Garden | 9 Comments

keep on planting

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Denise

image of Iris reticulata from Wikipedia Commons Collections of Virginia Woolf’s copious letters and diaries have sustained me through some dreary, uninspiring times. By turns bitchy and transcendent, but always dependably filled with trenchant and unflinching observations of her life … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, books, Bulbs, clippings | Tagged Iris reticulata, Leonard and Virginia Woolf, Vox | 10 Comments

cooling down the house with a garden; a modest proposal

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Denise

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 climate change strategies, Curbed: “How Houses Were Cooled Before Air Conditioning.”, Cussonia natalensis, pergolas, shade | 10 Comments

the August urge for going

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Denise

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 Aloe elgonica, Bergamo, Inter-City Cactus Show & Sale, International Mtg of the Landscap and Garden, Italy, Madrid's Desert City, Perennial Plant Conference 2017, Puya laxa, Puya mirabilis, Rainforest Flora, South Bay Bromeliad Associates, Tillandsia capitata 'Roja' | 8 Comments