Don’t let the brooding shadows and tulip tumult fool you. Dutch masters-style floral arrangements are enjoying a moment in the sun. During the 17th century, morning glories, roses, anemones, lilies and (of course) tulips were painted with heartbreaking precision and drama by Netherlands artists like Rachel...
Legend — namely, Plutarch — has it that when Egyptian goddess Isis was searching for the remains of her brother/lover Isis, she set out on a boat made out of papyrus plants. And not just any boat made out of papyrus; one with the power...
Last weekend we attended the second annual Succulent Celebration hosted by Waterwise Botanicals in Escondido, CA. A grower, nursery, and all around bewitching place to spend an afternoon, Waterwise Botanicals specializes in legions of perennials, cacti, roses, and native, unusual and drought-tolerant shrubs and trees. And...
Imagine a shrub shaped like your wildest dreams. Therein lies the magic of topiary, the art of sculpting foliage into silhouettes resembling everything from chess pieces to geometric marvels to butterflies taller than Tyson Chandler. Yes, there will always be the deep, Depp eyes of Edward...
Having come of age in/around a mall during the late 1990s, I’ve always associated the term “glamour shots” with soft focus, Cinnabons and feather boas. But perhaps not anymore. Because we've been getting lavish with our photos lately — all in the name of capturing the innate...
Spilled across 37 acres purchased for $40,000 in 1941, Ganna Walska Lotusland in Montecito, CA, remains one of the most whimsical, most wildly fabulous gardens we’ve ever explored. To the tune of: 300+ species of cacti alone, a “theatre garden” populated with antique grotesque sculptures, and a...
There are hardcover, lusciously photographed books that make us want to lounge and daydream. Then there are hardcover, lusciously photographed books that make us want to kick over the coffee table and make something. At our house, The Plant Recipe Book is the latter kind...
“The Polynesian voyages are probably the most epic journeys ever undertaken by man,” says Mike DeMotta, the assistant director of horticulture at the National Tropical Botanical Garden. We're in Kauai, and he says this by way of introducing Ryan and I to the two dozen...
The secret’s out! Last Saturday we, along with our newly fern-ified yard, were delighted to be included in the La Jolla Historical Society’s Secret Garden Tour of La Jolla. For years and years we’ve wanted to take the tour ourselves, which is, per the website, “a...
We like flowers with a whiff of danger. Like flower that grow from cacti. Flowers that bloom at night. For these reasons (and so many more), the epiphyllum plant — known for howlingly beautiful flowers that typically blossom into the evening — is scratching this...
