Look what I bought a couple of days ago! Pretty cool flower, isn't it? You know I love the unusual and the exotic - and I had a thing to go to and I thought wow - this flower is going to look awesome in my hair. (Being latina, I like to wear flowers up there. It's a cultural thing, like having your ears pierced at birth) So yesterday, I was thrilled to see that the flower was still big and gorgeous. Insta hair-do. But as the day progressed, I started noticing an unusual amount of big, blue/green flies in and around my kitchen (I hung the flower just outside the sliding doors, and I always keep them open so the minions can run around and make mischief). And then I caught a whiff. What the hell was that? Yup, my hair accessory. Flies were buzzing all over it... and big ones, not your average, everyday, dainty housefly. I stepped closer and the smell was - unappealing. To say the least.
I lookes it up, and it is a Stapelia grandiflora, common name - well take your pick - carrion flower, Zulu giant, giant toad plant, starfish flower, dead horse flower... the list goes on. It is pollinated, obviously, by bottle flies. The scent is decsribed in various texts as - spoiled chicken, putrid flesh, an open drain, roadkill, old blood ... you get the picture. I still love it, I'm just moving it away from my kitchen door. And I definately didn't wear it in my hair! Can you imagine if I'd had a cold and couldn't smell it? I would have pinned it near my chignon, and all night I'd be covered in flies, stinking like a decomposing racoon! That's me, always making an impression...

Remember the fab containers I got at Pot-ted? To start my Inner Jungle? Well, the plant I chose to occupy them is....Sanseveria 'Grey Lady'! Okay, I know alot of people hate Sanseveria because it reminds them of ... whatever - Aunt Penny, the dentist, the vice principal who smelled wierd... in the seventies, everybody had this in a basket in a corner. But there are so many cool varieties of Sanseveria, and this is one of them.

I think the grey cast to the leaves makes this plant perfect in my celadon pots - and I love strappy, upright leaves. I know they aren't exactly Jungle-y, but it's a start ... next I'm going to get a big plant to put in the corner in back of the couch ...maybe a palm!

Look, my minions feel right at home with the new addition... What do you think?
Hey, speaking of houseplants, Alison sent in the following question:
"I live in a city apartment that gets limited sunlight and can be drafty and cold in the winter. Consequently, the plants I have brought into my apartment quickly lose their color and become droopy. What type of plants would do best in my apartment?"
You can read my answer, 'after the jump' as they say...

Okay, I'm always ranting and raving about succulents - but many of you have no experience with them. Let's change that. Here is a tiny tabletop succulent garden that anyone can have. As long as there is a sunny window nearby, it doesn't matter if it is -120F outside... inside, you can have a touch of Palm Springs. Winter is around the corner! It's time to think about what kind of plants are going to follow us inside.
First, gather your materials. Choose two different succulent or cacti varieties - make sure they stay fairly small. The two choices can be anything, the only rule is that they contrast each other as far as shape goes. If one is starfish shape, the other should be globe-y; if one is a rosette, the other should be strappy. I chose a little Aloe brevifolia and a mini barrel cactus, but there are so many things you can use - go to Daniel's Specialty Nursery for a huge selection of desert plants... the best I've seen on the web. Explore! I love the Aloe 'Blue Elf', Agave 'Victoria-Reginae Compacta', Echeveria agavoides, Echeveria subsesselis, Euphorbia ferox, Euphorbia flanaganii, Euphorbia obesa ... the list goes on and on. You can make a fantastic combination from the plants here! You also need a pot or bowl (no hole!)- make it pretty! Next, a bit of cactus mix, a scoop of gravel, and something decorative to top dress the pot (I used seashells I picked up on a beach in Mexico). You can use polished rocks, slag glass, costume jewelry - whatever makes you happy... (more instructions to follow)

Oh my God - it is hot and so dry dry dry that my lips have cracked, despite layering on my lip balm of choice, the miraculous Jing Jang Creme (olive, sesame, almond, lemon, lavender oils and vitamin E along with so many flower extracts I can't list them all. Great on the lips and a fantastic salve for garden hands). In weather like this, your sinuses get so dry it can be uncomfortable breathing in. And my throat feels like a mummy's. I've been drinking water like someone who lives in the desert. Now hold on, Los Angeles is a desert - all our water comes from snowpack in the High Sierras, hundreds of miles away. Doesn't something seem wrong about that? One big earthquake and the pumps and aqueducts could crumble and we'd be back at square one - LA as desert! My poor garden... it shouldn't have to deal with these ... these hotflashes from Mother Nature.
My bulbs came in from Old House Gardens, but who can plant in this weather? I might create a charge of static electricity with my trowel and start a brushfire. Can I possibly whine more? Forgive me, but like I said in an earlier post, the Santa Anas make people crazy. They seem to affect my dogs, too. Sadie has been spending the day stalking an invisible beast in my shade garden.

Finally, a hint of autumn in the air! Not a chill, just a faint suggestion of chill - which is good enough for us in LA to bundle up in handknit scarves and hats, usually worn with tank tops and flip-flops. For me, autumn really begins when my tall grasses bloom. These in the photo are the tropical Miscanthus floridus, which really have some presence to them, don't they? I have them planted behind my aloe garden, since they bloom somewhat concurrently. As a matter of fact, here's my first aloe bloom spike!

I can't wait! I have so many more winter-blooming aloes in my garden this year... it should be quite a show. I wish those of you in cold winter climates could have the pleasure of seeing so much color at such a relatively quiet time of the gardening year. But at the same time, I know cold zone gardeners cherish their winter breaks, and look forward to spring all the more. When I first started gardening, I followed all the directions in the big national garden books and 'put my garden to bed' for the winter in October- wrapping up roses, pruning evergreens, cutting back perennials and spreading a thick layer of compost everywhere ... I had perfectly tucked everything in for a long winter nap. Of course I felt like a total heel when I learned that we don't do that here! I learned a valuable lesson - reading isn't enough. Planting gardens, whatever their size, isn't a solitary pursuit. Don't let it be! Make a garden friend today!

Cindy Weaver from Cleveland, Ohio writes:
I just bought (OK, my husband bought) 9 trees; 2 Autumn sunset maples, 6 King Crimson and one Japanese maple. We have to plant them ourselves. Do you have any suggestion? Thanks for your help.

I hope Cindy has lots of room, because her husband purchased some serious trees! All except for the japanese maple are going to be over 50ft high. And they have 9 of them! This is a good number of trees to start out with... if you're planting trees in a park. In a home, you want trees that will stay in scale with the size of your house - you can check out a list of residential tree suggestions... just follow the link at the end of the post.
As for planting trees - it's all about the big hole. Dig a big, deep hole, and make a mound in the center of that hole to place the plant on. Place the tree on the mound, fill the hole up with soil, and tamp it down firmly. Now here is the key to planting a successful tree, and it's counterintuitive - the tree should sit very high in the hole. About 2 inches above the soil grade. Yes, I know, you've just dug your butt off, and now I'm asking you to put all the dirt back in the hole and leave the top two inches of tree root sticking out of the soil? Exactly. Lightly cover those 2 inches with mulch - the tree should look like it's coming out of the top of a tiny volcano. This allows for some natural settling of the freshly planted tree. Now gently give your new friend a nice, long drink... and whatever you do - don't make a little moat around the baby tree and fill it with water. Whoever started that bit of nonsense was just starting trouble. All that gets you is a sunken tree.
Let's all wish Cindy and her husband luck with their maple orchard - because no matter what, they are planting trees, and that benefits all of us. So thanks, Cindy!

(Black Mondo Grass)
STOP THE PRESSES! Okay, that may have been a little over the top, but reader graygardener just alerted me to the existence of a website that marries two of the best things in the world: Plants and chocolate! I've heard there are people in the world who aren't under the spell of this ancient and magical confection, but I don't believe it. I think non-lovers of chocolate are an urban myth. But enough about the haters, get thee to Chocolate Flower Farm and check out all the things dark and sweet that they have to offer.

(Chocolate Cosmos)
The story is that Bill is a chocoholic and Marie is a garden lover, so mix the two together and - just like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Chocolate Flower Farms was born. They sell plants that either look, smell, or taste choco-liscious, and in their 'Garden Shed' they sell such delights as Aztec hot chocolate, prize winning artisan chocolate bars, chocolate scented candles, bath products, and even chocolate teas.

(Nicotiana 'Hot Chocolate')
When I started gardening, it was the deep colors that captured me. I wanted so badly to have a garden made up exclusively of brown, bronze, red, or purple plants and flowers, but back then there weren't many readily available, so I had to expand my palette. But now, I could do it - I could have the Gothic Garden of my dreams - My Garden of Chocolate Delights. After all, I'm in the process of redesigning my front garden, and after oggling the plants on this site, I am seriously considering returning to my dark roots.
Here is a the best chocolate cookie recipe in the world - very unusual, very adult... read on, my friends...

Kudos to Catherine Borg, a Domino reader living in Palm Springs, Ca (the land of Modern) who took the Modernist Garden created by Brooklyn landscape designer Susan Welti (and archived on the Domino website) and ran with it! Catherine was already working on her garden, using right angles and clean lines, when a friend showed her the article on Welti's garden. She incorporated the elements of the modernist garden into her plan and came up with something entirely different - crisper, more restrained, but just as incredible.

Here is a gardener after my heart - concrete and pea gravel are my favorite hardscape elements! Yes, stone is beautiful, but if you're going modern and budget is an issue - concrete is answer. Just look at that back yard - it is an abstract painting you can walk into! This is a perfect example of using color contrast; it doesn't always have to be in the realm of planting - the lush green of the lawn smack against the gray gravel, and the reddish tone of the bark mulch used under the palm trees ... wonderful. Crisp. Sophisticated. One thing I'd like to see is - and Catherine, write me and say 'Step off, bee-otch' if you don't agree - but I'd like to see the screen fence I've been touting lately as the frame of this picture. Does anyone agree? Or am I getting a little obsessed?
Catherine's use of space makes me think of mid century landscape architect James Rose. If you love modern outdoor spaces, check him out. And if you are working on your own outdoor masterpiece, be it modern or otherwise, send me some snaps! Don't be shy! Gardening@dominomag.com! Use it!

Merry says she's inspired by the fence, and wanted to see another view of it. Your wish is my command! This is right after Mark finished it. By the way, Mark Lightcap is not just a brilliant fence builder, he is an acknowledged genius of the guitar. His band Acetone is no more due to singer Richie Lee's untimely death - but they were peerless and are sorely missed by their many fans. Hear Mark on many of sonic artists Matmos' recordings - anywhere awesome music/sound is being made, Mark is bound to be around it, in it, or lurking underneath it. And he built my fence!

Fences are hard - you don't to be precious about them or they cease being background elements, but it just isn't our thing to give in and make due with the ubiquitous dog-ear redwood fence, right? Also - have you noticed how expensive wood is lately? I love materials, but I'm a woman obsessed... I want to spend the bulk of my landscape design dollars on the plants! I had alot of yard to fence in, so I tried to come up with a design that would use the least wood possible. The inspiration was a fence that Judy from Elysian Landscapes (the lucky woman who employs me) came up with using cheap bamboo fencing and 1x6 planks of wood, but my friend Mark and I polished up the design and I think he really took it to the next level on the construction. We decided to surround each bamboo panel in a frame and then we (well - he, really) capped the fence (he didn't shoot the fence, he put a finishing piece of wood on top of the fence), and the result is a pretty slick looking fence with an eastern flair that cost half as much as a solid wood fence of the same length and height.
Mark finished the fence about six months or so ago, and I started planting tough Australian plants in my new garden area (this is a side yard in back of the garage) and I put in a red passionflower on the fence - which shows that even though I'm madly in love with my fence, plants will always come first with me!