I think that these days all of us are trying to go green in many aspects of our lives as we try to reduce our demands on the world’s resources. Gardening has the shiny green patina of communing with nature… Read More »greener gardening practices
One of the easiest ways to reuse broken concrete is to stack up the pieces to make a low garden wall. My house came with an expanse of dangerously uneven, cracked concrete that needed to be removed. One option would… Read More »recycling concrete
My visit after Christmas to the Getty Center had as its main destination an exhibit of photographs by Carleton Watkins. Watkins worked all over the West Coast, and was the first person to develop an important body of work on… Read More »some of my favorite photographs
If there’s a plant that says New Year’s Day to me, it’s the common jade plant, Crassula ovata. The reason why is a little embarrassing, and I’m trusting you not to tell anyone else. Growing up, my family would spend… Read More »my new year's plant
A garden without animals is like a florist’s refrigerator–Hortense Miller, 1908-2008.
Many years back I planted a rose geranium plant (Pelargonium graveolens) and was close to pulling it out. The leaves had that interesting rosy, grassy rose-geranium scent, true enough, but the plant was sprawling, leggy, and in its underwatered spot… Read More »pretty isn't everything
I was thinking about doing a flat wall art-piece incorporating living plants, and what should I run across but this on Landscape + Urbanism, a creation that was featured in Metropolitan Home. It’s a panel of living succulents that were… Read More »defying gravity
Early last week, while I was working, John had a chance to go up to Northridge and visit his aunt for a few days. As part of the long weekend he was able to go to the aunt’s sister’s house… Read More »naked ladies and tarts
In 1999 I went to an exhibition examining some artists’ response to natural processes. Out of all the pieces the work of Daniel Ladd stayed stuck in my mind all these years. On display were gourds that he had grown… Read More »molds–the good kind
A few weeks ago, walking on the UCSD campus, I noticed an interesting bit of agriculture taking place: Why let a lack of soil and a third-floor location deter you from having a nice crop of sweet corn? My brain,… Read More »plants in high places