Ellen's peppers!

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this rose is so beautiful!

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The Beautiful Amaryllis

I have been fascinated with the wild Amaryllis since moving to California in the mid 90s. The Amaryllis belladonna (pictured below, just emerging) is also called the Naked Pink Lady. In the winter it has a glorious spray of large, strap like green leaves, just like the leaves on the Amaryllis you get for Christmas. These leaves turn yellow and die in the late spring, around the time that the rain stops. What is so interesting however is that in mid summer, when the days are longest and hottest, these fantastic buds emerge from the naked ground and slowly get taller and taller until they open up to beautiful pink flowers! And such a lovely smell. They are funny to see in the wild where they look like aliens coming up out of the grasses with no clothes. So lovely and delicate though. And as a botanist, I really enjoy seeing the wild version of cultivars we are all familiar with, especially coming from NH!
Another interesting Amaryllis is one that I need to do some more research on as the 5 minutes I just did yielded nothing. Here is a photo of the flower:
Its leaves are similar to the agapanthus leaves which have a sheath at the bottom and the leaves separate about 8" up from the base. This time of year these leaves are falling over, not dying, and the flowers are starting to emerge. I am wondering if they are a different type of Lilly, like the agapanthus, rather than the amaryllis. My neighbor down the street has one of a rich rose color, so beautiful. Hmmmmmm, I must learn more.

Amaryllis belladonna aka Naked Pink Lady

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I will publish more photos of this plant as it grows!

Encyclia chocleata orchid which is 25 years old!

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Suzi's husband pulled this out of the neighbor's garbage 25 years ago and she has it on the patio underneath the strawberry guava tree. It has just started to bloom this year - such interesting flowers! Orchids do really well in southern california, you just have to find the right spot for them.

Epidendrum orchid

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One of the easiest orchids to grow. I have seen it in a pot of bark in full sun, or in the ground. It can get 6' tall!

scary.....

Just found a Black Widow spider at a client's house. In their dining table no less! Scary. My rule is never put your hands where you cant see them because you never know what is hiding. I am glad we found it because they have a 2 year old. The gardener saves the day once again!

coming up for air

It seems to me that it is very easy to get lost in the day to day business of running a business and running a life. What do I need to do now and how? Those are the two questions that are constantly coursing through my brain. Today, however, I came up for air and took a nice long look around me. The view is pretty good, I must say. I have been working and pushing my business from the absolute ground up for the last 3 1/2 years, trying to keep my cool when I didn't have enough work or not enough money for rent. Dealing with the loss of so much work when our country crashed, knowing that so many other people were in the same situation. I placed my energies into building up my client base. Even if the job was only $50, I took it knowing that the relationships that I build now will take me into the future. I knew, with absolute certainty, that my business was the right thing for me to do. That is what has kept me going up until now, when I have come up for air.
Today I started thinking about all of the wonderful clients that I have. How good it is to be able to make someone's home a beautiful place to be. I found myself visiting four of them today and looking at how they have grown and changed over the last few years. Some of them I care for intensively, others I come for special projects. It is truly wonderful to be a part of the living world at such an intimate level. Each plant has a story to tell, a history, and a cycle of change unique to itself. And each yard is a community that I have brought together, which I have the privilege to foster and nurture through the years. Garden design is not static but electric with life and I am so lucky to have this be my work. so incredibly blessed

The dog who loved me

All day long I get fuzzy-luvins from a variety of critters. It certainly makes for a nice reprieve from pruning and weeding. There is Katja the cat who for the longest time would not let me near her but now we have scratching sessions to her obvious delight. There is the adorable Shila, a pom, who first has to bark at me and then fall down at me feet waiting for me to pick her up. I admit the I am partial to Mathilda the 140 lb Mastiff but watch out for that tail! It can leave a bruise. Oscar is the baddest cat you will ever meet - declawed and still leaves a little critter gift for his owner everyday.
Molly and Topper have a complicated relationship with me. When we are next to each other its all wags and kisses for me but put a door or a window in between us and they are liable to bite my face off!
Of course the best one is the one I come home to everyday. She has to sniff me all over! I call it the lipstick on my collar....

too hot to think

did I mention that it is hot? Its so hot the bags of mulch just fell apart - they melted! Luckily I am done and getting into my air conditioned car. It does look very pretty here though so it was worth it

too hot to think

Today and yesterday are finally really hot. It hit 103 in the valley! Luckily the shade is relatively cool. I am trying to finish a project today in Highland Park. Unfortunately the contractor is not finished. They always are days behind and I get stuck trying to work around them and oftentimes clean up their mess! This one is pretty good thankfully. He keeps a very clean jobsite, something that I appreciate. I just wish that they would have more respect for the plants. What is the deal with cleaning off your brushes in the shrubbery? A perfectly nice looking plant is now spattered and ruined. Drives me nuts! One very cool thing about this property is the fruit trees. There are several guavas, a lime, persimmon, plum and two large avacados with tons of fruit! The avocados won't be ready to pick for months though, nor the persimmons. Oh well. Later days

baby oranges. just a few more months!!!

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did this box last year. Love it!!

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Mystery Tree

Does anyone know what type of tree this is? Its fruit is like an apple

Mystery Tree

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Food for thought

One of my clients called today and was wondering what the black stuff was on her tomato plants. Its ROT, yuch. About 6 weeks ago we put in a beautiful little veggie garden which is surrounded by a chain link fence to keep out deer. Almost two weeks ago I did a nifty little irrigation system using 1/4 inch soaker hose - the coolest product ever! It does, however, exude copious amounts of water. I went last week to check on it (they were out of town on vacation) and the plants were rotting all over!! It turns out that someone (not naming names) had set the timer way too high!!! Yes, truly, it is possible to over water your vegetables. Something to think about...

a new project

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a new project

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a new project

Here it is a monday and finally we have some sunshine! It has been way too gloomy lately. I am meeting with Greg and Alexandra of ModOp Design to discuss what to do with this great house they just bought. It is a bit of a mess but a wonderful structure. They are full of ideas for the place but I am the designated landscaper.
Here is the challenge: We live in a desert and our water supply is 200 miles away (crazy, I know). Last year the city council imposed watering restrictions plus increased the cost of water. What to do with all of this outdoor space without just sodding the whole thing? It is a bummer because I really do love a good lawn but I think it is environmentally irresponsible to install one. What are the alternatives? Mulch, gravel or dg (decomposed granite).
Hmmmm I have quite a bit of thinking to do. More later

Pride of Madera

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Pride of Madera

Its pride of madera month at Pam's. They are very large shrubs which bloom in the spring and then set hundreds of seeds - half of which went down my shirt today. Last year I only cut off the blooms which meant that they stayed really big (I think that this bunch is pretty old). My goal this year is to cut them way back so the other plants get a chance. They are so big that only one or two fit in the green bin so I am slowly making my way around the house. I am on my fourth week and barely made a dent! Keep on keeping on.....

I love this yard

Every week I come to this yard to do maintenance and it always makes me smile! A married couple with a young son live here and they use every inch of their property! I designed and installed it a couple of years ago and have made changes along the way. My favorite part are the two veggie beds that we put in. So far this year Margaret has grown brussel sprouts, chard, lettuce and potatoes. The tomatoes are easily seven feet tall and she has put in 5 corn plants. They are blooming but I think the ears will start forming soon. I am looking forward to when they are overwhelmed by the tomatoes... salsa! A little bonus for being the gardener - surplus. And just an aside, this yard is actually quite small, about 30 x 30. Space management is essential when designing

I love this yard

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Agave americana

i am at Ellen's house at the moment I did her front yard last year which centered around these two big agaves that she had already planted. Crazy enough they are having babies! What to do? If each baby gets as big as the parent then this yard will be one big tequilla farm! Maybe I should suggest that as a side venture for her.....

Agave americana

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Finally

I am able now to blog when I am out working. I found that at the end of the day I was so tired and didn't want to think about plants or work anymore. Thus the elapse of time from when i first started this blog. I also forgot a lot of the things that I found so fascinating through out the day. I am very excited to try out this new blogger app that allows me to blog in the field! We shall see how it works.

just trying my new app to blog on the fly