One way to make a garden look pulled together is by echoing colors. Take this inspired work in progress. Forgive the current state of the ground. Despite the forecast, it's still winter for a couple more days. Clearly they've got plans. And a fab sense of color. While...
Gardens: Articles from The Editorial Side
We happen upon gardening inspiration all the time–an exciting new plant combo spotted on an apartment balcony here, a master gardener’s open garden tour there. We love to share the latest sights that have us seeing new plants and old plants in new ways.
Grasses make me happy
I love the texture. I love the movement. I love how they seed around. For quite a spell (that's what my dad, Clovis, would say it,) I never left a nursery without at least three grass-like plants in hand. I slowed down a bit in my last garden because it...
I’ve got a bad case of magnolia lust
Magnolias are a romantic bunch, thought of like southern belles with a blousy bloom, a fleeting moment of floral perfection. Whenever I confess to love them madly, I’m met with a questioning glance. This does not equate. She of the spikes, desert plants and love of...
What to My Wondering Eyes Should Appear
This is my first full season in our Flamingo Park Gardens, and I can’t wait to get reacquainted with the plants. Oh sure, I put a lot of them in myself, and I have a spreadsheet, but I haven’t entirely keep track of what is where. At my Alameda (RIP) Gardens, I named...
Is pruning the new planting?
Just in from a day of working in the garden (you know: “working”) and I got to wondering, is pruning the new planting? Nothing will ever compare to the thrill of an open expanse of soil and corresponding trip to the nursery, but there’s a joy to be had in having...
Beauty and Brawn: Nolina ‘La Siberica’
If ever there was a must have plant, this is it. I found my Nolina 'La Siberica' at Cistus Nursery. Nolina (isn't that a great name) lived happily in our Alameda hellstrip garden for two years. When we moved last April, we transplanted her to Flamingo Park; she has...
The roots (spikes) of my obsession
A few years ago, at a party for “plant people,” I was introduced to a friend’s new beau. His first question, “favorite genus?” I didn’t hesitate, not even for a second, before answering…agave! As I may have written here previously, my being a part of this plant lust...
UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley
So close, and yet... I was in Berkeley last week, mere minutes away from so many places I wanted to visit. 15 minutes away from Annie's Annuals, where I wanted to grab a few Musschia wollastonii, among other things. 30 minutes away from The Ruth Bancroft Garden, which...
Dwarf Bigleaf Magnolia: One Sweet Tree
It's hard to imagine there was a time I didn't lust for specific trees. Not that far back, I could identify maples and conifers, and that's about it. Now my list explodes with possibility. If you love tropical-looking, big gorgeous fragrant flowers, and quick...
I go out walking…
One of my very favorite things to do is to walk a new neighborhood. Be it in my own city or one I’m visiting only briefly. There are always things to discover and they’re easier to see when you’re on foot… I am attracted to dark houses, they seem more grounded in the...