The other day I walked outside to enjoy my morning coffee, and was immediately assailed by a really disgusting smell. I looked to see if another stinky flower had blossomed from my Stapelia grandiflora (see Oct 28 posting), but that wasn't it. Then I noticed Dexter and Sadie fixated on something in the gravel - obviously the origin of the stink. I shooed them away and got my first glimpse of the nastiest thing my garden has ever produced, both smell-wise and looks-wise.

(Welcome!)
A year and a half ago, friends and trail blaizers David Bunn and Ellen Birrell sold their beautiful craftsman home in Eagle Rock and purchased a lemon farm in Santa Paula, CA.

(Deep End Ranch farmhouse - dates back to the late 1800s)
Nevermind that the two artists knew next to nothing about farming (I say next to nothing because Ellen had horses, and in my mind if you can ride a hourse, surely you must know something about running a farm), they took the plunge - they moved all their possessions plus two dogs and horses to the lemon farm and named it "Deep End Ranch".

(Newly planted citrus climb the hills behind the garden)
Their teaching positions - David in the graduate art dept at USC and Ellen in the photo program at Cal/Arts - keeps them connected to LA, but for the most part, their lives are now all about lemons, horses, and Arundo donax (the giant reed grass that clogs the river that runs through their property).

(Peeking into a row of the lemon groves)
Jan and I were lucky to be invited to spend the weekend after Thanksgiving playing with a big group of pals up at Deep End Ranch, and being in the rural setting watching David and Ellen embarking on this exciting phase of their lives was deeply moving to me. Nature has electrified them - their eyes are brighter, their laughter louder, and the love of their new surroundings leaps out of them and into you.

(Sweet Josefina gives Sadie a big kiss)
click for more, friends...

My name is Dexter. I'm hot. It's almost Thanksgiving and every day it is over 80 degrees. There's this new pup Sadie who lives here and wants to wrestle all day long. The heat doesn't seem to get to her - but I've had it. I'm done. I'm gonna make a break for it. Will anyone give me sanctuary? I have a few requirements - I have allergies so I need a special diet that I hear costs a buttload, I need all new toys since I'm travelling light, it is imperative that I have 2 long walks a day, and I like to eat flowers. I'd like a cool climate, but no snow, please. I'm a Pisces, but I can't swim. I like to yodel, I like to sleep in, and I have been known to be gassy, especially at night - and I believe in the family bed. I am in the beginning planning stages, and haven't figured it all out yet, but I wasn't meant to live in weather like this. Help.

Plants don't have to be all rare and exotic or hardcore and succulent for me to love them. I also love these girly, frilly, Fancy Leaved Pelargoniums. You can call them geraniums if you want to, it doesn't bother me, although technically it is botanically incorrect. But if you go to a nursery and you ask for a 'fancy leaved geranium' instead of a 'fancy leaved pelargonium', they'll know what you're talking about. (the difference between pelargoniums and geraniums is vast, but somehow they got tangled up. Geraniums are hardy perrenials, and they have a delicate, English-y look. Pelargoniums are mediterranean sub-shrubs with leathery or sometimes succulent leaves that come in an endless variety) This particular 'Fancy' is Pelargonium 'Contrast'. She has reddish orange flowers and is tough as a marine. A great bonus is that once you have one of these, you never need to buy another one - they are the best cutting plants of all time. Whenever you trim this baby, pop a few of the cuttings into little terra cotta pots and water them every 3 or 4 days. You'll always have a great little gift handy for those times you need to drop in on someone. Do people do that anymore - just drop in? Or is that a very Southern thing? Any which way, fancy leaved pelargoniums are great in pots, in a garden, and in a vase. To me, that means a plant is a winner!

Still in Atwater Village (a vibrant little neighborhood in Los Angeles), 2 houses down from the colorful subject of the last post. The vibe of this place couldn't be more different - look how strict this palette is! Silvers, grays, and soft blues rule the day here, punctuated ever so slightly by the dark leaves of Phormium tenax 'Bronze' (bronze flax). Notice how little green is in evidence ... usually, green is the dominant color of any garden (you know, leaves); here, the designer went " Green? Who needs it?". That's the spirit! I love the monochrome thing - I can't do it, I'm way too maximal for that- but I love it in other people's gardens.
This garden is all about the trees. I believe these are Acacia covenyi - and they are excellent examples of beautiful pruning. When you have trees like these, you really don't need much else. The gray theme is continued with the groundcover - Cerastium tomentosum, which gets tiny white flowers in the summer. I would change something, however. To me, this garden looks like a stage that is missing it's 'actor'. I'd plant a big blue Agave americana right in the center and let it hold court.

So what do you think, is this garden finished as is? Or will my addition make it complete? Or does someone have another idea?

I was installing a garden in the very cool Atwater area of LA, and this house across the street just about set my eyes on fire! Why not paint your little wooden house bright red? And while you're at it, pop a couple of snakes on either side of your door ... I'm sure they'll keep the bad ju-ju out or the good ju-ju in or something like that. The light blue trim really does it for me - it looks so fresh next to all that red. And then, as if the house itself wasn't enough, they get the biggest orange plant they can find (Leonotis leonuris - or lion's tale, it answers to both) and combine it with a sage in the perfect shade of purple (Salvia leucantha 'Midnight') and then let the two go at it, get big and intertwine at will. No fussy trimming for these folks! I'd love to see who lives here. I already like them!

Now try to imagine this same house without the garden.

Wow. On a lark, I walked into a new store in my neighborhood - and I was absolutely delighted. Pollen Botanical Design isn't just a flower shop - heavens, no. Craig Powell, the owner, is a real dreamweaver, and his designs are magical. His website will be up in a couple of weeks, and then I'll do a nice big post showing all the beauty in his shop. For now, just check out the beautiful flocked vases/votive holders I got for a song! Could they be more Goth Chic? And then what do I spy but the heart stoppingly beautiful burgundy/black peonies ... I had to make a little posy the second I got home and upload it for you all to enjoy. Rita had a lovely watermelon colored peony on her blog a few days ago, and I am pleased to bring you my take on the same flower. And just check out the vases - they will make amazing patterns on the wall when I slip little tea lights inside.

Craig and I were talking about the new interest in indoor plants - there really is a wave building. I couldn't be happier - not only will we all have better air and more lively indoor spaces, but we get to think of new and inventive ways to display these living sculptures. Let's all jump on the bandwagon! I decided my next indoor plant will be in the form of ... A HANGING BASKET!!! Am I out of my MIND? Stay tuned...
Did everybody vote?

(The worst clay soil I've ever worked with - San Juan, Puerto Rico)

Hello. I'm renting a townhouse in Germantown, MD and our soil has quite a bit of clay in it. Because I'm renting, and we plan to move in 4 years, I do not want to put a whole lot of money into my tiny front yard. We tried sowing grass seed but nothing really took. I planted some red blood plans which grew very well. I also planed some lavender and sage. Neither one grew, nor did they die. My question is should I keep to a container garden since nothing seems to be growing? Or perhaps there are plants and flowers that do well in clay soil. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Jasmine

I think Jasmine should do both - I love mixing container gardening with a conventional garden. Sure, she could just plant in pots, but I don't want her to let clay soil intimidate her one minute longer! Clay... people hate clay soil. When dry, it looks like an overbaked brownie - crusty, full of cracks, and water beads off of it, refusing to penetrate. When wet, it is a heavy, sticky mass that is a better used as a building material than a growing medium. It holds water like nobody's business and takes forever to drain. Yuk! Who'd want that? Well, (and this might make Jasmine happy) clay soil is incredibly nutrient rich. If you could just change the texture of clay soil, you'd have yourself some powerful stuff to grow a garden in. Now, changing the texture of your soil sounds hard, but it isn't. First and foremost, compost. Compost your heart out. (and by compost I mean spread organic compost on top of your clay soil. You can even lightly dig it in, if you're feeling ambitious. Making compost is another activity, for another post). Another thing you can do is buy a coffee can full of red worms (the kind people use as bait) and throw those babies on top of your compost layer. They will be your little diggers, tunneling into the clay soil below the fluffy compost and mixing the two up as they go ... eating up bits of organic matter and pooping out that miracle substance known as 'worm castings'. Your clay soil will begin to have lift and life, like a great hairdo!
Plant lists for both conditions after the jump...

I LOVE Halloween! Every year I buy way too much candy to give the neighborhood kids - I consider it an investment in the future. When these kids grow into teenagers, they'll remember the nice couple with the funny dogs who gave out handfulls of chocolate and tootsie pops, and they'll go off and do their teenage mischief elsewhere. They'll remember my crazy punk-ins.

For the past 5 years, I invite a bunch of friends over 2 nights before Halloween, make a big pot of hearty soup, ply them with ginger-tequila shooters, and turn them into pumpkin carving maniacs. The mildly hallucinogenic quality of the tequila makes for some masterful designs. This year my carving posse sliced, stabbed, gutted, peeled, and gouged 30 pumpkins - and each found a special home in my front garden. The result was pure magic. Trick or treaters of all ages came by to marvel at the glowing orange orbs, and my neighbors gathered in my garden, enjoying the spirit of Halloween. Thank goodness for Patron Silver!

More pics and the recipe for Ginger Shots - read on.

Nov 1, 2006 - A large lizard-like creature was spotted hovering over the hamlet of Eagle Rock in Southern California. Oddly enough, life went on as per usual ... no 911 calls, no panic in the streets - only a squabble in the kitchen of a house on Townsend Ave as a woman elbowed her husband in the eye while reaching for her digital camera.
This little chameleon was pretty smart - figuring out a way to sun his tummy without turning into parrot food (Eagle Rock is also home to a large flock of wild budgies). He stayed there for a few hours and went back to his 9-5 job, eating bugs in my garden. He is a crucial part of the little organic ecosystem I've built here, and he can take a coffee break on my window screen whenever he wants to!