The amaryllis are in bloom at a much needed time: mid-summer, when flowers are scarce.
Tag Archives: water conserving plants
R.I.P. big manzanita
Our Dr. Hurd manzanita has been in decline for three years, after growing vigorously from a small five gallon plant to a four foot tall shrub. Leaves in some stems began to look thin and dry. I started a bit of water in summer, just hand watering on cooler days. This seemed to help, forContinue reading “R.I.P. big manzanita”
Prickly Pear Cactus Pruning: an update
It’s been two years since we visited this cactus and did some fairly major structural pruning. We removed trunks to simplify the plant’s shape to let its structure come through. This time, the goal was to keep the cactus’ size in check, removing peripheral pads to again show the branch structure. Prickly pear limbs tendContinue reading “Prickly Pear Cactus Pruning: an update”
Monterey Park garden growing up
Progress photos of a Los Angeles area subtropical garden designed to save water and be interesting year round.
Lighting your landscape
Some examples of using lighting to transform landscapes – and make them more enjoyable by night.
Some new plants from Down Under
During the midst of the worst heat wave in years, a package arrived on our doorstep. Live plants. Fortunately, our doorstep is in the shade, so the “Live Plants” tag was still accurate. The plants came from Tuffy in Temecula, a supplier of plants to wholesale nurseries – our closest grower is supposedly Devil MountainContinue reading “Some new plants from Down Under”
Leucadendron salignum update
Our Leucadendron salignum plants in August, still alive.
A native flax for the perennial border
We’re trying out some new California native perennials, to see what kind of border we can create using primarily native plants. We’re mixing several species of penstemon, this flax, Blue-eyed grass, Red Buckwheat and coyote mint to see what happens. The funny thing about California natives is that most of these plants aren’t native hereContinue reading “A native flax for the perennial border”
Rosemary: people love it, bees love it!
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a great plant for water conserving landscapes, herb gardens and bees