Clik here to view.
Whimsical and wonderful: Bunny Jean Cunningham’s art garden on Pence Gallery...
The Pence Gallery (or “Pence,” as everybody calls it) is an institution here in Davis. Established in 1976, this not-for-profit community art gallery is not only a popular downtown destination, it’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Front yard succulent mounds finally mulched
In February we finally removed the front lawn and replaced it with two succulent mounds surrounded by decomposed gravel walkways. The rock we had originally chosen as the top dressing, California Gold,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Book review: Protea: A Guide to Cultivated Species and Varieties
Writing more book reviews is always near the top of my want-to-do list for this blog. I don’t have a good reason why I haven’t followed through, but I promise that I’m going to do better. And it will...
View ArticleClik here to view.
California Garden at The Huntington
The first time I visited The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA, in December 2014, the entrance area was a construction site. Things looked completely...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Desert Garden at The Huntington: Old World
The Huntington in San Marino, CA is one of California’s great estates. Established by businessman Henry Huntington in the early 1900s on what was originally a 600-acre ranch, the Huntington comprises a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Desert Garden at The Huntington: New World
In my previous post I covered the Old World section of the Huntington Desert Garden. It’s located near the top of a rise, adjacent to the Desert Garden Conservatory. From here the land gently slopes...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Exotic paradise in the Oakland Hills: Casa de Sueños
Last Saturday, July 30, was another Garden Conservancy East Bay Open Day. I enjoy visiting private gardens I would otherwise not get to see, and I’m glad the Garden Conservancy returned for the second...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Summer morning
We’re at the height of summer: two months down, two to go. I’ve been so busy with work this year that the first half of summer has zoomed by in a blur. The four days we spent in the mountains of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Summer evening
We spent last weekend with my mother-in-law in the town of Mount Shasta in far northern California (about 45 minutes south of the Oregon border). Saturday morning was magical, as chronicled in this...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wednesday Vignette: funny fungus at the Ruth Bancroft Garden
I recently took two friends from San Francisco to the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, my favorite public garden in Northern California. I only snapped a handful of photos since I was too busy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mediterranean Delight…with lots of succulents
At the Garden Conservancy’s East Bay Open Day on July 30, I visited two gardens. The first one, Casa de Sueños, was a tropicalesque fantasy on a 1-acre lot in the Oakland Hills. The second one, only 15...
View ArticleClik here to view.
First wave of summer casualties
Crispy may be a good thing when it comes to fried chicken. Not so much for plants. It’s the one thing you don’t ever want your plants to be. Unfortunately, it’s something that happens every summer...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pacific Horticulture Summit 2016, Sonoma County, CA, Oct 15-16, 2016
I don’t often promote third-party events but this one is so interesting (and a good value as well) that I want to bring it to the attention of all my readers. Sonoma County is one of the crown jewels...
View ArticleClik here to view.
South African splendor at UC Santa Cruz Arboretum (summer 2016 edition)
Noël Coward once suggested than only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun. Something similar could be said for plant geeks who visit botanical gardens at the height of summer. I'm...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Front yard succulents aglow at sunset
I haven’t done much actual gardening this summer. Instead, I’ve been enjoying the fruit of our previous labor. The fact that it’s been in the high 90s every day for more weeks than I care to count also...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Book review: The Drought-Defying California Garden
The longer you garden, the more you learn. That goes without saying. But with that experience sometimes comes a certain arrogance. Usually you’re not even aware of it. It may express itself in rolling...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Australian and Succulent Garden at UC Santa Cruz Arboretum (summer 2016 edition)
Two weeks ago I made a quick trip to the University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum. I’ve already posted about the beauties in the South African Garden. Now it’s time to take a look at what caught...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Book review: A Botanist’s Vocabulary
If I had a I’m a Plant Geek t-shirt, I’d wear it proudly. But my geekery goes beyond the plants themselves. I also love the language that goes with it. Not necessarily the hardcore science of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Index: Victoria and Vancouver Island, BC, September 2016
This list contains all the posts from our September 2016 trip to Vancouver Island, British Columbia:Labour Day escapade to TofinoEvening in downtown VictoriaSucculents at Butchart Gardens—and bananas...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Labour Day escapade to Tofino, Vancouver Island
In April, we visited Victoria, British Columbia because daughter #1 was interested in studying at the University of Victoria. Fast-forward five months. We’re back in Victoria, helping daughter #1...
View Article