Alan Beverly was fresh out of college and a Peace Corps volunteer when he discovered a plant that became a lifelong passion. Hiking the rugged mountains of Lesotho in central Africa, guided by “friendly, hardy Basotho people” (whose children shrieked with fear when they saw him, their first white man), he “found Aloe polyphylla perched[...]
When in Orange County recently, I stopped by a nursery I’d heard about—the Dana Point Nursery on Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point. I experienced it through my camera, and lost track of time. I shot a lot of cool plants and container combos, but the aeoniums were my favorites. Aeoniums are native to the[...]
Recently in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I saw outdoor design ideas that were clever, entertaining and a little quirky. (A little Albuquerque, too—more about that later.) Like this vignette at a Canyon Road gallery: a painting paired with annuals. Don’t want to hang your outdoor oil painting on the wall? Prop it on an easel.[...]
Is it any wonder I’m such a fan of succulents? In addition to being easy care, low-water and having architectural shapes, they send forth spectacular flowers. Some of the most amazing are those of aloes, most of which bloom in midwinter (in temperate climates). Shown above is Aloe x ‘David Verity’, in Patrick Anderson’s Fallbrook,[...]
The Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden (HTBG), a 40-acre, former estate garden near Hilo, occupies a rainforest canyon. The first plant that blew me away was this bromeliad near the visitor center. This was the next. And my companions and I had yet to descend into the garden!