“Sneak-in” plantings? That is a term I use for any placement of a small plant into an unusual or random part of your garden. A place where most plants would fail or where one wouldn’t expect to see a plant. It is in these areas I like to place smaller-growing rare plants. I find that these types of plantings…
It was maybe six years ago that I received a few lava stone pots from Bali after a family trip. In two of those pots I place a Neoregelia ‘Ink Well,’ each with two pups growing from it. I always loved the color of Neoregelia ‘Ink Well,’ and because it is a bigger Neoregelia, I wouldn’t…
The San Diego Bonsai Club held their 51st Annual Fall Show on September 24th & 25th. Having never been to a bonsai show, I had to set aside time for this one. Thanks to my daughter’s soccer game on Saturday afternoon, I had to get up early and catch the show when the doors first opened in order…
I have written a few blog post over the last two years showing off some of the amazing gardens that members of the Southern California Palm Society (PSSC) have created. Recently I had the opportunity to tour what is most likely the nicest of all of them in Southern California: the beautiful “Cuesta Linda” garden estate…
This past weekend I had the pleasure of hosting the Southern California Hibiscus Society (SCHS) for their monthly meeting and garden tour. I usually don’t open my garden up for larger groups, so this was a first. From their website: “The Southern California Hibiscus Society is a group for aficionados and growers of the genus Hibiscus, its species, hybrids…
Sadly summer is coming to a close here in Southern California. Starting next month many of the plants in my garden will start to show the effects of the shorter days and cooler weather. To combat this I have planted a lot of winter growing and flowering plants to steal attention away from the plants…
There are three ways your average gardener can propagate an agave. It can be grown from seed, removed as a pup or sucker, or it can be done from pulling off bulbils (also called plantlets). Seed takes too long and in some cases you might not even end up with the same plant once grown up. Suckers are…
This past weekend I drove up to Los Angeles to visit the 31st Annual Inter-City Cactus and Succulent Show and Sale that took place at the Los Angeles Arboretum. LA traffic never makes things easy, so a 3-hour drive turned into 4 that Friday. The show was well worth the drive, however. The Inter-City Cactus and Succulent…