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A trip back to the VanDusen Botanical Garden
Another must see while in Vancouver, B.C. (in 2010), the VanDusen Botanical Garden. I remember being a little concerned that after touring through the gardens and nurseries of California in 2009 that...
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Recognizing a stranger / I’ve been here, but I’ve not…
Mid December we took off for points south. We began the trip celebrating a milestone anniversary and then finished it up by spending Christmas with my husband’s side of the family, just north of Los...
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January, when spring begins in my fantasy world…
I think I finally understand why January can be so hard for me. As soon as the holidays wrap I mentally turn a corner. Something along the lines of: "Okay, winter's over, let's move on to spring!"If...
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Visiting the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley, 2014 Part 1
As you've no doubt figured out, the last half of 2014 was pretty California-centric for me. Before our week and half in Southern California over the holidays we spent a week in the Bay Area in...
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Visiting the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley, 2014 Part 2
We're back at the UC Berkeley Botanical garden (yesterday's post was Part 1) and about to enjoy the Southern Africa and New World Desert Gardens. Oh and if you thought yesterday's post was long you...
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Houseplant and pottery sale at Portland Nursery...
If it's a cold and dreary day there are two places in Portland I can go to get my "desert plant" fix, one is Cistus Nursery and the other is Portland Nursery, on Division. Both have a big greenhouse...
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My visit to the garden that inspires A Growing Obsession
I am fortunate to have visited several gardens belonging to my online blogging friends, I count those stops as some of the best times in our travels. So when Andrew and I began planning our December...
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January Garden Blogger's Bloomday...
Poking around the garden yesterday, looking for blooms, I couldn't help but notice that things are looking a little "springy." When it happens so early I try not to get too excited, anything could...
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Mahonia gracilipes is my favorite plant in the garden, this week. Learn from...
How many meme’s can you cover in one post? I'm going for three...Yes indeed, this is exactly how bright my Mahonia gracilipes is right now. And that's why it's my favorite plant in the garden, this...
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My very Potted Christmas...
I cannot imagine being in the Los Angeles area and not visiting Potted, luckily we had time to eke out a quick visit. We parked on the street, in front of the shop and under this huge Ceiba (Chorisia)...
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My haul from the Portland Nursery "Houseplant" sale
Even though I'd planned to be at the Portland Nursery Houseplant Sale bright and early (that means about 10:30 am for me) I woke up feeling poorly with a long list of things I needed to do (see, even I...
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Living in a mossy paradise
During dogs walks around the neighborhood it's nearly impossible to not stop and ogle the moss.Or the tiny undersea life forms.Which are actually on a red lava rock very much above ground, although...
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Wreaths, they’re not just for Christmas you know…
As much as I love putting up the Christmas decor (usually on Black Friday, it's better than shopping) I also can't wait to take it all down. As in on the 26th it's gone. Part of the de-Christmasizing...
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The Dry Garden, who needs polish when you've got loads of plants, passion and...
Last September I finally got to visit The Dry Garden in Oakland. I say "finally" because my last attempt was thwarted by a transit strike and the time before that my travel companion dismissed the...
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A surprise at the big box...
As you may remember, when traveling I like to drop in the orange big box store (or similar) to take the gardening pulse of the area. To find out what the average (non-nursery and plant crazed), home...
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Mid-winter check in (with the prisoners)...
The sun was shining, the temperatures were mild, it was finally time. Time for the mid-winter check in. Time to take enough of those prisoners out of the shade pavilion that I could actually get in...
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My favorite plants in the garden, for January 2015
It's that time again, the end of the month (January is over!!!) and a wrap-up post of my favorite plants in the garden...This beauty, Acacia baileyana 'Purpurea', took my breath away while I was...
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Changing Times, Changing Landscapes: Drawing Nature into Urban Landscape Design
If you’re a member of either the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon (HPSO) or the Pacific Horticulture Society (PHS), you've probably heard about an exciting day-long event happening in Portland in...
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The garden of Marcia Donahue
Last September, after visiting The Dry Garden, my next stop was the personal garden of artist Marcia Donahue.I'd done my research and knew where her garden was and what days/hours she was open for...
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Low light succulents?
Making a quick run through Home Depot last week naturally I had to to visit the nursery area, where I was surprised to see they had a huge selection of succulents and sedum signed as being “low-light”...
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