AND THE WINNER IS: BECKY KIRTS! Becky was chosen at random and has been notified. (If I don’t hear from Becky in 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.) Thank you all for participating. I have more giveaways in mind, so stay tuned! “Gardening with Foliage First” by Karen Chapman and Christina Salwitz is a book I[...]
We’re not used to so much rain here in Southern CA. One series of storms has followed another. I’ve been gleefully gathering buckets of fresh rainwater for my potted plants. Could the drought finally be over? Well, no. It’ll take hundreds of years for underground aquifers to refill. The snowpack isn’t adequate for our future water supply.[...]
Several years ago, I posted the first version of my “Twelve Days of Cactus” on GGW. This is an updated (and I hope improved) version that has a corresponding YouTube video complete with music. The “first day” of both is the same—that dove in a prickly pear tree is just too good not to use again. Now, see if[...]
The way echeverias resemble pine cones inspired my front-door holiday wreath. I used bronzy-gold painted pine cones the size of ping-pong balls and attached them, as well as the succulents, to a flat wreath form using hot glue. Surprisingly, hot glue doesn’t harm the plants. When doing holiday designs using succulents, be careful that the embellishments you choose don’t overwhelm plants with muted[...]
Garden writer and photographer Bren Haas, when interviewing me about my career and books, asked if I’d had a mentor for my photography or painting. I told her, “Light is a great teacher. I become transfixed when I see sunlight glittering on leaves, shadow patterns, or some lovely translucence. I’m uncomfortable in the presence of ‘wrong’ light—i.e. a windowless[...]