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Well aren't you the little thug?
It took me awhile to decide that I liked Muehlenbeckia axillaris, or Creeping Wire Vine. But decide I did, and three plants went into the area cleared out when the Rhody was removed last spring. I...
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Why Grow That, When You Can Grow This?
Let’s face it, Andrew Key’s new book Why Grow That, When You Can Grow This? 255 Extraordinary Alternatives to Everyday Problem Plants was not written for me. He begins by acknowledging that as...
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A tale of two discovered gardens…
My favorite way to get around in a strange city is to walk, you see so much more when you’re on foot. I also love to take less than direct routes simply for the chance to discover the unexpected...
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The lowly Cast Iron Plant, my favorite plant in the garden, this week…
Aspidistra elatior isn’t exactly considered a glamorous plant…“Cast iron plant. A standard house plant for eons -- in dark British apartment buildings from Victorian times -- and often used for a...
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A sunny December day in the garden…
Wednesday was a glorious (rare) sunny day with a lovely blue sky. Heck the temperature wasn't even bad, just a t-shirt and jeans with a sweatshirt over and I wasn't even cold. So can you guess what my...
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Our back garden, the next step?
Someone recently commented that if I'm talking about doing something (specifically a project in the garden) then I've probably already made up my mind to do it. While that might be true in some...
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The Garden Museum, London
While Andrew visited the Imperial War Museum (during our September trip to London) I chose something a little different, the Garden Museum. What, you’ve never heard of it? I hadn’t either. Luckily...
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My favorite plant in the garden this week? It’s a mystery...
No, not a mystery as to which plant is my favorite, that’s easy. With its bright variegation this yucca has been positively glowing on all the grey days we've had lately…No the question is how it got...
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A Christmastime nursery visit
A couple of Saturdays ago we were out and about in Vancouver, WA. It’s not far to go, but someplace we rarely are. When I realized we were near Shorty’s Garden & Home (which I’ve only visited...
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You again?
After 2 years and 9 months I thought my work was finally done. But then I spotted this…See those big glossy leaves (2) under the Eryngium venustum? That’s Acanthus mollis. I moved the Acanthus from...
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Bloomday for December 2012
I've got something new blooming in the garden in December! Are you ready for this…Wow, flower power eh? I’m not sure if the sun hadn't been hitting it “just so” that I would have even noticed! Those...
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Foliage Follow-up, new spikes!
Is there any better package than one that arrives full of spikes? I think not. Well, unless one arrived full of large sums of cash, but so far I haven’t experienced that one. In November the miserable...
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Cacti & Succulents, 1974 style…
All photos and text from Cacti & Succulents, written by William C. Mulligan, published by Grosset & Dunlap. There are some pretty entertaining nuggets in this book, I especially liked the...
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A new angle…
Any guesses as to where this landscape is?Maybe this view will help?Yes that’s the impressive crop of moss growing on our roof!Inspired by Alan at It’s Not Work Its Gardening, who took advantage of...
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You've heard of tree topping…
Q. Do you know what happened to the palm tree? (she asks as she's pointing out the window)A. Oh it was blocking our sign. They were going to take it out but I wanted it to stay and asked if there...
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Callistemon viridiflorus, my favorite plant in the garden, this week…
Yes it’s true, another Callistemon! If it looks a little familiar maybe it’s because you saw bits of it when I featured Grevillea juniperina 'Molonglo’ a couple of weeks ago. Truth be told I think this...
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This is so Portland…
Have you heard of Poetry Posts? Basically they’re posts installed in a hell-strip or front yard with a small box tacked to the post. Inside is a poem, sometimes written by the owner of the poetry post,...
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About that Christmas Palm Tree…
I know. After months of my rambling on about choosing the perfect Christmas Palm Tree (an idea which by the way should be credited to Louis at Parallel 49 Palms and Exotics) you’re all expecting me to...
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Decorative Cacti, the book
I picked up Decorative Cacti in Tucson in 2011. It’s an oldie, published in 1973 by Spring Books and printed in Czechoslovakia, Olga Kuthanová is listed as the translator of text by Rudolk Šubik. The...
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The state of the spikes, in December…
I’m a little late in posting these photos; they were taken back on December 5th, but what the heck! Better a late record than none at all…The last agave report was posted back in mid August. Not much...
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