California is relatively new, historically speaking, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love antiquities. Designers of restaurants and hotels must know this, because when they do a Spanish colonial-style establishment, they knock stucco off of the walls to make them look old. So where did they get the idea that this lent (at least the suggestion of) authenticity? [...]
Will you be at the Succulent Celebration and book launch June 7-8 near San Diego? I’d love to see you there! To entice you, here are a few glimpses of the nursery that’s hosting it, Waterwise Botanicals. Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’, in pots and on the hillside, is one of the succulents that the nursery sells a lot [...]
Several years ago, I met artist Diane Palley McDonald while doing an article about her studio’s makeover for the San Diego Union-Tribune. (The news angle was that it was on HGTV’s “Designer’s Challenge.”) When I saw Diane’s paintings, I wistfully told her how much I loved watercolors. She asked, “Well, then, why not paint your own?” [...]
When in Orange County recently, I stopped by a nursery I’d heard about—the Dana Point Nursery on Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point. I experienced it through my camera, and lost track of time. I shot a lot of cool plants and container combos, but the aeoniums were my favorites. Aeoniums are native to the [...]