Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Back from a quick trip to Southern California…

We spent a long Memorial Day weekend visiting family in Fillmore, California (approximately an hour north of Los Angeles). The plant related highlight was my second ever visit to The Huntington Gardens in San Marino, CA.

No, I’m not ready to post about that visit quite yet (we just got home last night), but I got to thinking about how many wonderful gardens and parks I’ve visited since I began blogging in March of 2009. The posts on those visits are scattered throughout the blog archives and difficult to find, so I thought I would make it easier by putting together a state by state list of these destinations with links to my posts. You'll find a link to that page at the top of the right hand column, or you can find it here. A warning...the older posts have smaller pictures of somewhat dubious quality (I started the blog three cameras ago). I hope you click over and check out a garden or two that you’re curious about.

In the mean time I’m sharing images of restaurant planters along a sidewalk in Pasadena, CA. They were gorgeous and full of the sort of succulent abundance taken for granted by those lucky enough to live there. More California plant fun to follow, as I work through the hundreds of pictures I took.

28 comments:

  1. Love these!! I just adore my string of bananas here, want some?

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    1. is that what that is? What a great name...perfect! Uhm...tempting, very tempting...but I should probably pass. I have no idea what I would do with it! Thank you for the offer!

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  2. Perfection! I'd happily take any of these planters home. I'm surprised, though, that the strands of Senecio radicans were intact. You'd think they'd be a magnet for children :-).

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    1. Maybe they don't allow children to wander the streets of Pasadena?

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  3. Gorgeous! Seeing stuff like this is one reason I'm looking forward to the Fling in San Francisco. I'm really hoping they include a visit to Ruth Bancroft, but if they don't, I just might have to go a day early and visit it on my own! Thanks for consolidating all your garden tour posts.

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    1. Oh my...how could the RBG not be part of the fling itinerary? Then again there are lots of great gardens and nurseries in the Bay Area. You're smart to plan to visit either way.

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  4. I feel like they contain everything (minus palms - of which I'm sure there were an abundance) that I love. Talk about epic! People in SoCal are certainly lucky. I hope that they take the time to stop and appreciate beautiful things like that - even when they are more common down there. LOVE the olive tree succulent mix!

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    1. Louis you would have died to see all the boxed Palms along the highway between I-5 and Fillmore...forests of them! Hundreds upon hundreds of huge trees waiting for a home. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture or two for you, there was never a good time to stop and from the car pictures didn't turn out.

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  5. Oh man, SO envious of those planters. Just stunning.

    Thanks for your list of gardens--that's very handy and I'll be referring back to it! Oh, and can't wait to hear more about your visit to Huntington Gardens. Once you've rested up ;-)

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    1. Me too, I would love to have a couple!

      Glad you might find the list useful...I probably should break it down by area not just state but I haven't had time...the Huntington is AMAZING!

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  6. The planters are amazing. Love the variegated aeoniums, they're huge!

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    1. Yes they are...about the size of my dog!

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  7. You can always count on Pasadena to have gorgeous plants everywhere - even in their outdoor restaurant plantings. I'm so glad you managed a Huntington Gardens visit. If I had to pick a single favorite garden of all time, it would be the HG, so I look forward to seeing your latest take on it!

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    1. I saw a little more of the garden this time than I did previously. I think I could go every week and still not see it all... truly magical!

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  8. Those planters are GORGEOUS. You know when we lived in So Cal they never did this kind of gardening and I never saw planters like that. Things have really changed there. We went to the Huntington a few years back- the cactus and agaves were just amazing. It was Jan and the aloes were in bloom. Look forward to your visit.

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    1. Succulents have definitely arrived, haven't they? I keep wondering when (and by what) they will be replaced by the next hot thing.

      Have you ever visited Descanso Gardens? We just learned of it (thanks Joy!) but didn't have time on this visit to check it out.

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  9. Oh my goodness, those planters look amazing. Just not enough heat where I live :o(

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  10. That's a good way of organising your photo posts on nursery visits. Love the planters, especially the variegated aeonium (which I think is A. 'Sunburst'?).

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    1. Oh nursery visits, that could be another page...so many ideas, so little time!

      (and I think you've got the i.d.!)

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  11. Can't believe I missed a chance to meet you at the Huntington on Saturday! Though we never made to the Desert Garden, my favorite of course, and I assume yours, too.

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    1. No! So you were there on Saturday...

      Yes I could spend hours wandering around the Desert Garden. I saw by your pictures that you visited the Children's Garden, so did we since we were with family and my little niece and nephew LOVED the place. So close, and yet so far...

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  12. Huntington is the place to take anyone who professes to be "not a plant person". I defy them to resist conversion.

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    1. I agree in that there would at least be a few "wow what's that" comments, but sadly there will also be comments like the one I overheard as I walked through the amazing Desert Garden "you know I don't think desert plants are all that interesting"...

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  13. Wow, stunning planters! Surely those lucky Californians don't take THOSE for granted.

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