What We Saw in LA
Yesterday we visited Watts Towers, the creation of an immigrant tile setter working by himself without much notice beyond his immediate neighbors. More after we return to Chicago.
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Notes from a wildlife-friendly cottage garden
We’re in Los Angeles!
All four of us arrived here on Friday. Among other things today we visited the Griffith observatory. Here’s a picture (it was kind of a cloudy and misty day). I’ll post a few more pictures while we’re here, with details to follow after we get back home.
Christmas in Los Angeles. Any Suggestions?
You may know that Judy and I and our two boys take a trip over the Christmas holidays in lieu of buying presents. Now that the boys are in their mid-20s I keep expecting them to tell us they have other plans. However, they are game to keep the tradition alive for another year, which …
A City Garden for People and Critters
So another garden that we visited during the Portland Garden Bloggers Fling was that of Tamara, who writes the blog Chickadee Gardens. I liked that this wildlife-friendly garden is on a 50’x100′ city lot. The front has a pleasing mix of small trees, perennials, annuals, and grasses. In the parkway the mix of plants looks …
Book Review – Sissinghurst: Vita Sackville-West and the Creation of a Garden, by Vita Sackville-West and Sarah Raven
Judy and I visited Sissinghurst late last summer, and we both loved it. Even so, I wish I had read this book before we got there. It certainly would have helped me to appreciate even more this remarkable garden, which began as the estate of writer Vita Sackville-West and her diplomat husband, Harold Nicolson. It …
Floramagoria Part II
Floramagoria, a private Portland garden I discussed in the last post, has a lot of stuff that can make you smile, even giggle. But this garden is not all giggles, no. It is a seriously gorgeous garden. The front garden is quite attractive, in a restrained sort of way. It gives you no clue of …
Quirkiness Supreme at Floramagoria
Floramagoria is a remarkable private garden we got to see during the Garden Bloggers Fling in Portland back in July. The garden was striking for its design and combination of beautifully grown plants. But it also contains a highly concentrated and entertaining dose of whimsy. There is so much in this garden that I’m doing …
NYC Has Its High Line, Soon Chicago Will Have The 606
The longest rails-to-trails project in the world is right here in Chicago, and is scheduled for completion in June, 2015. To find out more, I took advantage of an opportunity to interview in writing Beth White, the Chicago Region Director of the Trust for Public Land. Can you give me an overview of The 606’s …
The Portland Japanese Garden
We visited the Portland Japanese Garden as part of the 2014 Garden Bloggers Fling. I wouldn’t put Japanese gardens at the top of my list of favorite gardening styles. However, I’m very glad I was able to spend some time in this tranquil place. The Portland Japanese Garden is actually five different gardens on 5.5 …
Cistus Nusery: Another Reason to be Jealous of Portland Gardeners
Cistus Nursery is a “retail micro-nursery” located 15 miles from Portland, Oregon. It was another nursery that we visited as part of this year’s Garden Bloggers Fling. Cistus emphasizes plants for a Mediterranean climate and hardy tropical plants, so it has fewer plants that would fit into my own garden than you might find at …
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