BREAKurban

Hydroponic lettuce at Epcot

Patty — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 21:29:58 +0000

photo by pattyhume

Lion's Tail

Patty — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 21:27:03 +0000

photo by pattyhume

Instagram – Blog 2

Patty — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 03:50:18 +0000

Instagram Blog

Patty — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 03:48:19 +0000

Terrain at Styer’s

Patty — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 02:32:28 +0000

The people who brought us Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters have opened a nursery and garden center outside Philadelphia in Glenn Mills.

I visited Terrain in April and enjoyed seeing how they merchandised a garden center with their trademark shabby chic look. Let’s hope Terrain is successful and that we get one here in Los Angeles soon!

Visit their online store for new and vintage garden furniture and gear + sign up for their mailing list.

Agave Fetish

Patty — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:59:59 +0000

I am totally Agave obsessed this summer. It all started when I designed a Woolly Pocket living wall that used Agaves as focal points. Planted among hanging succulents like Trailing Jade and Senecio Fishhook, the Agaves took on a bold flower like form that could be seen from far away. They were so striking that I started to develop a new appreciation for the sculptural and graphic quality of the agaves.

Commonly called ‘Century Plants’, Agaves are large succulents that are related to Aloe plants. They are Monocots which means that each stem (or plant) flowers once and then dies. It may take up to 10 years for an Agave to flower, but in the meanwhile they propogate ‘pups’, small Agaves that grow at their base.

Native to Mexico and parts of the Southwest, they also grow in parts of South America. Agaves are tough and relatively easy to grow in USDA zones 8-10 (Los Angeles is in zone 10).

With Agaves on my mind I have started snapping photos of them in my neighbohood – check out the variety of colors and textures!

Agaves on a parkway on Silverlake Blvd – you need a wide parkway (6′ or more) to grow Agaves

Baby Agaves growing in my test garden

On Montana Street across from my old apartment

Octopus Agaves at the Los Angeles Arboretum

Variegated Agave ‘Americana’ on Carroll Street in Echo Park. I’m going to plant a few of these in my yard this fall.

Plant Star: Dymondia

Patty — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:36:21 +0000

Dymondia is a great ground cover for parkways and pathways. It is super tough and can take people walking on it plus it needs very little water. You can buy Dymondia in flats and you break the flat into little pieces. It generally takes about 6 months for the Dymondia to fill in.

We planted a lot of Dymondia on a wide parkway in Santa Monica last spring. See photo of how the plugs looked just after planting. We will check back again later this fall and see how it has filled in.

Bocce in the Garden

Patty — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:47:15 +0000

Bocce is gaining in popularity in the US and some speculate it is because we are drinking more wine. Check out this article in Fine Gardening– On A Roll .

COMPOSTING CLASS

Patty — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:36:10 +0000

@ City of Los Angeles sponsored a series of FREE Composting classes—- + buy a subsidized composter for $20 + a worm bin for $5

See Bureau of Sanitation Schedule for next compost class event.

BALLER

Patty — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:33:17 +0000

Baller Hardware in Silverlake has a decent supply of hard to find drip irrigation supplies– If you are going to buy online try Amazon or www.dripirrigation.com (Taken with instagram)