Tag Archives: Shirley Watts

potted plants on the move

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Denise

The summer containers in nondrought-stricken gardens can become quite a virtuoso display. I’ve understandably pared things down the past few years but am always amazed at how even a relatively small group of pots can exclaim “Summer!” All the pots … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, climate, journal, pots and containers | Tagged Aeonium 'Cyclops', Agave 'Blue Flame', Chionanthus retusus, Corokia virgata 'Sunsplash', Cussonia spicata, Euphorbia ammak, Fortnam Gardens, Homecrest chairs, Los Angeles Harbor, Manihot esculenta 'Variegata', marine salvage, Maurizio Zucchi, MB Maher, Mina lobata, Potted's City Planter, Schefflera 'Amate Soleil', Shirley Watts, Streptosolen jamesonii, Warehouse No. 1, Xanthosoma 'Lime Zinger' | 14 Comments

a Shirley Watts’ garden

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Denise

Monday features two long-time friends (and family) of AGO. Oldest son Mitch took these photos of a Shirley Watts-designed garden a few years back and kindly agreed to let me share them here. The garden had a lot of formal, … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, design, MB Maher, photography | Tagged garden designer Shirley Watts, MB Maher, Shirley Watts | 12 Comments

“The Artful Garden” featuring Shirley Watts, Portland, Oregon 2/15/15

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Denise

Detail of mural in the new reception hall at Rancho Los Alamitos. I don’t suppose there’s the smallest chance we’ll ever see a “bullet train” built that runs to Portland, Oregon, since the voter-approved Los Angeles-to-San Francisco high-speed train has … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, design, garden travel, succulents | Tagged "The Artful Garden" 2/15/15, Agave schidigera, Aloe marlothii, Bilbergia nutans, Dasylirion wheeleri, Golden Barrel Cactus Echinocactus grusonii, Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, Portland State University Hoffman Hall, Rancho Los Alamitos, Shirley Watts, Strelitzia reginae | 9 Comments

Natural Discourse: Light & Image 2014, an epilogue

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Denise

Ever wonder when our buildings are going to have the photosensitivity and photoreactivity of plants? Dale Clifford, with his focus on biomimetics applied to architecture, is on the case, investigating the possibility of designing a photoreactive brick inspired by the … Continue reading →

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, artists, Department of Instruction, MB Maher, photography, science, succulents | Tagged Dale Clifford, Folly Bowl, Garden designer Sue Dadd, glass artist Christian Thornton, Harvard's Ware Collection of Glass Plants, interactive computer programming, Interactive Programmer John Carpenter, James Griffth, Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Marion Brenner, MB Maher, Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore, Natural Discourse: Light & Image, Richard Schulhof, Roger Hangarter, Shirley Watts, Silverlake Farms, terraced gardens, University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley, Ware Collection Manager Jenny Brown, Xaquixe Glass Innovation Studio | 7 Comments

Natural Discourse at Los Angeles Co. Arboretum 10/18/14

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Denise

The drive will be considerably shorter for me to this year’s Natural Discourse, which will be held close to home at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden: “A symposium presented by the Garden Conservancy and the Arboretum that … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, garden visit, MB Maher, science | Tagged Garden Conservancy, Lorene Edwards Forkner, Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, MB Maher, Natural Discourse: Light & Image, Pacific Horticulture, Shirley Watts | Leave a comment

Friday clippings 8/22/14

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Denise

At first sight I became enthralled by artist James Griffith’s exquisite, painterly ripostes to the “drill, baby, drill” set — my words, not his. James is much more polite. By way of a secret alchemy, he utilizes that precious resource … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, clippings, MB Maher, photography, plant nurseries, succulents | Tagged Aloe capitata var. quartzicola., Begonia 'Paul Hernandez', California Greenhouses, Editor Emeritus Pacific Horticulture, Folly Bowl Summer Concert Series, Garden designer Sue Dadd, James Griffith's La Brea Tar Paintings, La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Marion Brenner, Natural Discourse; Light & Image 10/18/14, Potted For Outdoor Living, Richard Turner, Sanseviera 'Black Gold', Shirley Watts, Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Plants | 5 Comments

Shirley Watts in “Curbed”

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Denise

The Garden Bloggers Fling hostess for the 2013 meetup, garden designer Shirley Watts, got a nice writeup in the Bay Area’s Curbed today. Very gratifying to see a primarily real estate magazine throw some love at landscapes and gardens too. … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, design, garden travel, MB Maher | Tagged Curbed, Garden Bloggers Fling 2013 San Francisco, MB Maher, San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, Shirley Watts | Leave a comment

Stanford’s New Guinea Sculpture Garden

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Denise

More updates from the Bay Area, this one from occasional AGO photographer and contributor MB Maher. I’ll let him tell this adventure in his own words: “Shirley Watts messaged me to keep my Wednesday evening open. And per her instructions, … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, garden visit, MB Maher, photography | Tagged MB Maher, Robert Pogue Harrison, Shirley Watts, Stanford University, The New Guinea Sculpture Garden at Stanford | 4 Comments

Natural Discourse: Culture & Cultivation 10/10/13

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Denise

What to make of this impulse to create gardens? Most of my ruminations are done leaning on a shovel, or moving a pot inches to the left and wondering why in the world it matters. One of the few constants … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, creatures, design, photography, science | Tagged Adolf Portmann, Alice Miceli, Cevan Forristt, David Rothenberg's "Survival of the Beautiful", Flora Grubb, Hannah Arendt, Margaret Morton, Marion Brenner, Mary Jo McConnell, Natural Discourse; Culture & Cultivation, Richard Turner, Robert Pogue Harrison, Roger Hangarter, Saxon Holt, Shirley Watts, The Chernobyl Project | 4 Comments

“Gardens: An Essay” by Robert Pogue Harrison (reposted from 10/7/11)

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Denise

I’m more than a little overexcited at the prospect of hearing Professor Harrison speak at the latest iteration of Natural Discourse entitled “Culture & Cultivation,” to be held October 10, 2013, in Berkeley, California. The previous Natural Discourse programs were … Continue reading →

Posted in artists, books, Department of Instruction, design, garden travel | Tagged "Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition", "Natural Discourse", architect Julia Morgan, art, gardens, historic hotels, Natural Discourse: Culture & Cultivation 10/10/13, Robert Pogue Harrison, science, Shirley Watts, The Berkeley City Club, The New York Review of Books, UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley | 5 Comments