Succulents and More™

On my April trip to Portland , one of the destinations I was most looking forward to was Bella Madrona. I’d been there once before, during the 2014 Garden Bloggers Fling , and had fond, if hazy, memories. For some reason, I never finished my post that I started 12 years ago, but here is a good one about Bella Madrona and the Fling written by Pam Penick on her blog Digging . Bella Madrona defies description. There are trees and shrubs and flowers, art pieces and found objects, a stream and a bog, several meadows, and even a secret forest inhabited by gnomes. As I was reading up on what others have written about it, I came across a term that captures its essence perfectly: pleasure garden. It makes me think of something grander, something that goes beyond plants; a space designed to bemuse, entertain, and thrill. When you look at the photos below, you’ll see what Bella Madrona is: lush, eclectic, playful, romantic, serene, mystical. I’d even call it whimsical if the w word wasn’t so wor...

Completed in 2013, the Civic Center in the Southern California coastal city of Newport Beach  has become a word-of-mouth destination for succulent enthusiasts. It's easy to see why: Newport Beach Civic Center along Avocado Avenue The complex, which houses Newport Beach city hall and the central library, is architecturally stunning. It's adjoined by 14 acres of parks and gardens transected by 1.25 miles of walking trails. The $140 million price tag is hefty, but no corners were cut—and that applies to the outside areas as well. That in itself is very gratifying since landscaping, which is usually the last major element to be installed in a project, often gets the short end of the stick, especially when there are budget overruns. The landscape design was created by Berkeley-based  PWP Landscape Architecture whose projects are found all over the world, including Jewel Changi Airport in Shanghai, the National September 11 Memorial in New York, and the Marina Bay Sands R...

Every summer, the  Ruth Bancroft Garden  in Walnut Creek, CA transforms itself into an outdoor art gallery showcasing pieces from regional artists. The tradition began 23 years ago, and it's still going strong. This year's Sculpture in the Garden kicks off on Saturday, June 17, with an Opening Night Sunset Social. Unfortunately, tickets are sold out. But you'll have until Sunday, August 13, 2017 to check out the art yourself--and maybe pick out a favorite for your own garden.  When I visited the RBG last Sunday, June 11, quite a few pieces had already been placed; more have been added since then. Nothing was labeled yet when I was there and there was no price list. I tried to ID the artists whose pieces I photographed but I was only partially successful. I will amend the captions below as more information (including prices) becomes available. As with any art show, I liked some pieces more than others, but I have the utmost respect for the creative minds who brought...

We spent last weekend with my mother-in-law in the town of Mount Shasta in far northern California (about 45 minutes south of the Oregon border). Saturday morning was magical, as chronicled in this post . By late afternoon, billowy clouds had begun to build up in the sky, and we decided to head to the Living Memorial Sculpture Garden for sunset. Spectacular evening clouds Looking northwest from Highway 97 The Living Memorial Sculpture Garden is located 13 miles northeast of Weed, California . Yes, there is a town named Weed (its motto is “Weed like to welcome you”), and in spite of the wealth of marijuana-related souvenirs being sold in local shops, it has nothing to do with pot. Instead, it gets its name from an early developer named Abner Weed. in 1897, he established the Siskiyou Lumber and Mercantile Mill, which by 1940 became the world’s largest sawmill.

The Pence Gallery (or “Pence,” as everybody calls it) is an institution here in Davis. Established in 1976, this not-for-profit community art gallery is not only a popular downtown destination, it’s also a leading player in the visual arts scene in Northern California. As a fundraiser, the Pence organizes a tour of local gardens every May. My wife and I had done it two years ago (see here: 1 | 2 | 3 ). Since this year was the 25th anniversary, we decided to pony up the $25 per person and do it again. We visited eight of the ten gardens (the other two were the small garden at the Pence as well as the UC Davis Arboretum Terrace next to Whole Foods, which I’ve blogged about before ). This post is about the one garden that truly stood out. My second post will briefly touch on the other gardens. This year’s gardens were all located in the downtown area. While not an official theme, it became apparent that the ongoing drought has had an impact on most of the gardens. Some gardens had n...