Debra Lee Baldwin lives and gardens in Escondido, CA, near San Diego. She is an award-winning photojournalist and artist with hundreds of articles and columns to her credit. Debra authored the Timber Press bestsellers, Designing with Succulents and Succulent Container Gardens.
To celebrate the release of their new book Indoor Plant Decor, co-authors Jenny Peterson and Kylee Baumle are having an online celebration via GGW and several other garden blogs. GGW’s door prize is a $25 gift certificate to Logee’s, a mail-order source of rare and unusual plants. The photo above shows the book on my own kitchen windowsill. Continue Reading →
James Baggett (right), the editor I freelance for at Country Gardens magazine, has long legs. Fortunately I do too, or I would have been running during a tour he gave of Meredith Corporation’s headquarters in Des Moines last week. There was a lot to see and not nearly enough time; the facility encompasses 180,000 square feet of office space on four levels with a 230-foot skywalk. There are lovely and intriguing works of art everywhere, such as this tile mural. Continue Reading →
When an aeonium elongates into bloom, you know the rosette is toast. But the flowers are spectacular. It’s a life lesson: Enjoy the moment. Beauty is fleeting. This is Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’. Continue Reading →
Robin Stockwell (right), owner of Succulent Gardens Nursery, has a reputation of creating over-the-top displays for the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. Like two years ago, a cube house with succulent walls and a moat. Robin’s known for his vertical displays of succulents—entire panels consisting of little plants with different colored leaves. So take a look at this. Does it look familiar? Yep, Robin has made a huge succulent globe for the show this year, which is taking place right now through March 24. Below are photos of the globe under construction. Details are on the Succulent Gardens website. Continue Reading →
I showed this photo recently at one of my presentations. In the back of the room, a little girl stood on a chair to see better. I understood; as a child growing up in Southern CA, I also was captivated by brilliant ice plant blooms.
Those colors! As blindingly bright as ever a flower could be. Continue Reading →
