Every December I attempt to come up with a regionally appropriate photo for my holiday greeting cards. This one is my favorite. I was inspired by the way leaves of Agave americana “Medio-picta alba’ have a cream stripe that suggests a ski run. To keep the skiing angel firmly on leaf, I used a gumlike [...]
Do you like my shot of dew on a puya? This is a flower worth seeking at Quail Botanical Gardens and at the Huntington. It’s hard to resist touching the sapphire-blue petals to make sure they’re not plastic. Tall (4-ft) bloom spikes emerge from a clump of leaf clusters that resemble spiny starfish. Each leaf [...]
Is there a plant in your garden that you once longed for and now wish you could get rid of? Meet mine: Mexican evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa). You can see why I wanted them. Mexican evening primroses form diaphanously lovely, cloudlike mass of pink. I had seen them in other gardens, and wondered why no nurseries sold [...]