See the seahorse? It’s sempervivums planted in vertical panels. This was one of many lovely and unusual sights at the second annual Succulent Extravaganza at Succulent Gardens nursery in Castroville, CA last week. A terrace at the nursery is planted with Agave ‘Blue Glow’ (foreground) and Agave ‘Blue Flame’ (background). One-third of my forthcoming book, [...]
An article I scouted and wrote for Sunset is in all regional editions of the September issue. (Most Southern CA garden articles appear in the Southern CA edition only.) One reason is Brett Gum’s gorgeous photography. These are my own photos here. The location is a bluff-top home in the Orange County community of Corona del [...]
Echeverias, native to Mexico, have the most amazing blooms. They remind me of little lanterns or candy corn. The plants themselves are intriguing too, with lovely rosette shapes and pastel colors that include blue. The flowers range in color from peach and pink.. …to coral and vibrant orange… …and pale yellow. This is Echeveria imbricata in bloom, [...]
I can’t help it. I’m fascinated by cactus. Cactus used to be a non-category of plants to me. But here’s the thing: I love looking at them. I’ve started a small collection. I’m wary of course, I know they bite. Cacti are a little like having an exotic pet. You admire it, but keep it [...]
I saw many strange plants on recent visit to Grigsby Cactus Gardens in Vista, CA. This one seems to be greeting a fellow citizen of another planet. Perhaps they’re from a galaxy far, far away. And visit earth in this space ship. This is how they communicate with their home planet. Why are they [...]