Succulents and More™

 There are a lot of things you can give a gardener for the holidays—from the humorous to the practical—but what's better than inspiration in the form of a book? I'm a big fan of books, the old-fashioned printed kind, and I love giving and receiving them. Fortunately for all us, there seems to be no shortage of books relating to gardens, gardening, and plants. Just a take a look at Amazon's landing page for Gardening & Landscape Design !  For better or for worse, there are so many books out there, it can be downright difficult to choose. I'll have a separate post soon with some recommendations, but let's jump right to the top of my list. If you buy only one gardening-related book this year, make it Fearless Gardening by Loree Bohl. Fearless Gardening  won't officially come out until January 5, 2021so you can't give it as physical gift for the holidays. But you could make up a gift certificate for your favorite gardening friends and relatives. That way th...

With any luck, we'll never see another year like 2020 in our lifetimes, but even amidst all the chaos and uncertainty there's a lot to be thankful for. On that note, HAPPY THANKSGIVING to y'all. Enjoy the day with your loved ones, whether in person or virtually, and, above all, stay healthy.

I find it hard to accept the fact that it's almost Thanksgiving. What a strange year it's been. Sometimes it seems like we've been stuck in 2020 for an eternity, and yet at other times, it feels like time has flown by even faster than usual.  We had a little rain last week (emphasis on little ), and while it wasn't enough to soak the soil, it did wash away the worst of the surface grime. A good opportunity to take a look at some of my favorites in the front garden! Entrance to the front garden. I still can't believe these ponytail palms ( Beaucarnea recurvata ) are taller than the garage roof now!

With a couple of exceptions, most of my recent posts have focused on other gardens. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, especially considering how special my most recent visits have been (ample proof: Casper's and Daryl's garden , Justin's and Max's garden ,  Kay's garden , Piece of Eden , and Hidden Agave Ranch ).  But after a long summer lull, things are picking up in our own garden. Some developments are me springing into action, others are just nature doing its thing. In the latter category, many aloes are responding to the noticeably cooler nights by taking on reddish and purplish hues. Here are some photos taken over the weekend: Aloe 'Yemeni Gold' (far left, still green), Aloe excelsa  (tomato soup red), Yucca 'Bright Star' (its usual color and obviously not an aloe), and Aloe marlothii  (lavender gray)

As I said in part 1 of this post , Casper and Daryl's hillside garden in Oakland would be impressive enough if it only consisted of the lower portion. But there was a lot more to come.  As I was climbing the stairs, I had no clear idea what I would see. Frankly, that's my favorite way of experiencing a garden I'm visiting for the first time: with no expectations and no preconceived ideas. The less I know ahead of time, the more exciting it becomes; there's always time to find out more later on. On that note, let's start a few steps up from where part 1 left off: As you know, I'm not biggest fan of  Agave americana , but this specimen is magnificent. It might be the variety  expansa , the largest of the species.

 All of us occasionally hear talk of very special gardens almost too good to be true.  “Have you been to so-and-so's garden? It's really something!” “You haven't seen so-and-so's garden? You must go!” “I can't believe you haven't visited so-and-so's garden. It's unreal!” A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit one of these gardens thanks to my friend Mat McGrath . He introduced me to Casper Curto who created the garden with his partner Daryl Ducharme. As it turns out, Casper and Daryl live just a few miles from my friends Justin and Max, and they all know each other (we went over to Justin's and Max's garden afterwards). Proof that it's a small world and that there's quite a network of gardeners and plant enthusiasts in the Bay Area. Justin, Max, and Casper in front of Casper and Daryl's Oakland house Casper and Daryl live in a hilly part of Oakland, and their property slopes up from the house. I had assumed that their lot wa...

This post is both of a source of sadness and excitement for me. Why? Because we're losing another clumping bamboo, leaving just two. That's a considerable decrease since the early days of this blog when it was called “Bamboo and More.” I still love bamboo, but since our garden is so small, every square foot matters—and bamboo takes up a significant chunk of real estate. Since Monday was curbside yard waste pickup here in Davis, I decided to use the weekend to remove the clump of Asian lemon bamboo ( Bambusa eutuldoides 'Viridivittata') in the front yard: It's been a huge presence in this spot for many years:

In  part 1  of my visit to Justin's and Max's Oakland garden I showed the plantings in front of the house. This post is about the back garden.  While the front garden is more of a square, the back garden is a long rectangle along the side of the house, maybe a bit over 1,000 sq.ft. in size. But don't let that description fool you. What this area lacks in size it more than makes up for in visual impact.  As I mentioned before, Max is a horticulturist with a deep plant knowledge—an access to wealth of plant sources. Justin, an Episcopalian priest, may not be a plant professional, but he, too, knows a ton about plants. Both of them are drawn to plants that are anything but ordinary. This post is living proof. Iochroma  'Royal Blue' from Annie's Annuals. Iochromas are shrubs or small trees native to South America where they grow in relatively moist forest conditions. That explains why I've failed miserably trying to grow them in our garden in Davis.