Progress photos of a Los Angeles area subtropical garden designed to save water and be interesting year round.
Category Archives: Plants
Nature in B&W
Sometimes color gets in the way of seeing. Pure forms emerge from shades of gray; spiraling, twining, repeating, expressing their inner nature.
The Joys of Fennel
Fennel plants are a great way to attract insects and birds to your garden.
Prickly Pruning: thinning out a specimen prickly pear cactus
Pruning a prickly pear cactus for shape.
Textures for a Los Angeles garden
Southern California’s mild climate creates an opportunity to go wild with plant color, texture and shape. All manner of subtropical plants from arid climates jump onto the plant palette, and more are introduced every year. This garden has one zone adjacent to the main living area that receives moderate irrigation; the rest of the gardenContinue reading “Textures for a Los Angeles garden”
Lights, Camera, Landscape!
What do you think about reality TV landscape programs? Are those landscapes dreams come true or nightmares waiting to happen? It’s amazing how in a matter of days an overgrown, weedy wasteland can become a beautiful new landscape. It’s nothing short of incredible. A brawny guy walks up with a plan, everyone squeals with pleasure,Continue reading “Lights, Camera, Landscape!”
Time to cut back the California asters
After months of steady growth, the asters were reaching for the sky, with an average height of about 54 inches. Time to act. Last year, some of the asters were trimmed too late, almost completely eliminating their flowers. Others were done earlier, resulting at a solid floral display held below eye height. Untrimmed, the plantsContinue reading “Time to cut back the California asters”
Digiplexis progress
The digiplexis ‘Illumination Flame’ has been in constant bloom since we planted it, and since it looked like it had been in bloom for a while then. That’s a long blooming period! It’s not as tidy as before. The flowers are progressing up the stem, leaving the lower stem bare. This is how foxgloves grow,Continue reading “Digiplexis progress”
Removing your lawn to save water?
Replacing thirsty lawn with a colorful garden is a great way to save water and keep your landscape enjoyable even during a drought.
Yellow irises
Many irises are great plants for water-saving Mediterranean gardens. Bearded iris and Pacific Coast Hybrids are happy with natural rainfall in winter and spring, then go mostly dormant during the dry months.