I needed a quick post for this week as I will be in North Carolina for our family reunion at the Outer Banks. So before heading out with the wife and kids for a 3 AM departure, I went outside the day before and shot some late afternoon garden photos. Likely the most popular request…
This is the third and final update post tracking the progress of my large garden project. The next one I write will be to show the finished product all planted out. However, in order to get to the planting phase, I must first do some planter bed preparation. You’ll need to go back to the…
I have had a lot going on the last few weeks. As most already know, I am in the process of doing a pretty large landscape remodel and trying to coordinate all that with a busy summer schedule. The concrete work went in last week and next week the topsoil arrives for me to finish…
I love putting in new hardscape. Plants are the wildcard in your garden. You can’t totally control plants, no matter how hard you try. You just never really know how long you will want a plant or just how long it will live. Concrete work is permanent. It brings order to an otherwise shuffled landscape. With…
Architecturally speaking, few plants are more exemplary in a landscape than an agave. Uniquely shaped, tight rosette of leaves, clean lines and nasty spines give the agave its highly architectural appearance. The perfect plant for landscapes where this strong architectural form is desired. While they look great planted right into the ground, I personally find them much more notable in…
Not long ago I decided to join the San Diego Horticultural Society (SDHS). I have been told by a few that it provides a great opportunity to view some amazing gardens and meet some interesting people from the world of plants. The first garden I would tour with the SDHS turned out to be a doozy. Dubbed…
Welcome to the new year. Welcome to Bob’s garden. Last year I wrote a post about aloes, with a spotlight on hybrids. Those plants were all from the exceptional garden of Bob De Jong. That post received a lot of positive feedback and came with many private requests to see more. Wanting to oblige, I have waited…
I have been holding on to this post for over a year now. Figured it was about time that I showed readers the most impressive Encephalartos cycad collection I have seen in a private garden. Of course it had to be in South Africa, the land of Encephalartos. This garden I am about to show is only…