Tag: Public Gardens

Kubota Garden – lessons in form and shape Kubota Garden

Kubota Garden – lessons in form and shape

Visiting Seattle’s Kubota Garden is like taking a masterclass in the study of form and shape.  Located in the middle of a quiet suburban neighborhood, it’s somewhat of a surprise to find this secret gem of a garden nestled among its residential neighbors.  In the garden is a memorial stone dedicated to the creator of […]

Chihuly Garden and Glass in Winter chihuly garden and glass

Chihuly Garden and Glass in Winter

Today I’m excited to share with you the beauty of the Chihuly Garden and Glass in winter. It’s been a whopper of a winter, and while I’m not complaining,  I must say, I’m feeling pretty starved for garden tours right now.   Name a gardener that isn’t feeling this way, right?  But finding a garden that’s glorious in the […]

Why you should visit the Japanese Tea Garden in the dead of winter japanese tea garden winter

Why you should visit the Japanese Tea Garden in the dead of winter

There’s something pretty special about visiting a garden in the dead of winter. Why?  Because in the winter, a well-designed garden allows one to get a peek behind the curtain, to study the bare-bones of a garden.  The curtain, of course, being the attention-grabbing flowers of spring and summer. San Francisco’s Japanese Tea Garden just […]

The Sacramento Historic Cemetery’s Native, Perennial, & Rose Gardens

The Sacramento Historic Cemetery’s Native, Perennial, & Rose Gardens

I can’t believe it, but I’m coming up on the 2nd year anniversary since moving up north to Granite Bay from the Bay Area.  During the past two years, I’ve been having so much fun touring lots of public and private gardens in the area. It seems like a lot of my favorite gardens are […]

Takeaways from the Northwest Flower & Garden Show

Takeaways from the Northwest Flower & Garden Show

I recently returned from a fantastic whirlwind week in Seattle, where my mother and I attended the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival. In between my presentations, including a riveting ‘Container Wars’ challenge (yes, that’s me showing off my blue ribbon!!) I had plenty of time to wander through this year’s display gardens, the theme being […]

The Getty Museum’s Central Garden

The Getty Museum’s Central Garden

Two days ago I flew to LA for the day to visit my daughter, and on a whim decided to visit the Getty Museum’s Central Garden. While I’ve been there before in the spring and summer, I’ve never visited in the fall and was excited to see the seasonal changes. The Central Garden differs from many of […]

The Bold Dry Garden – a review and giveaway

The Bold Dry Garden – a review and giveaway

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to attend a party celebrating Timber Press’s new release, The Bold Dry Garden, written by Johanna Silver (who is also the garden editor for Sunset magazine). The event was held at one of my favorite places, The Ruth Bancroft Garden (appropriate, as that’s the subject of the […]

The New York Botanical Native Garden

The New York Botanical Native Garden

I was so happy to finally have the chance to visit the New York Botanical Garden, during their 125th anniversary no less!   I blocked out the entire day to explore as much as I could of this massive, 250-acre garden in the Bronx, and while I wasn’t able to see everything, I did manage to […]

Heavily Pruned

Today my mother and I took a little field trip to Palo Alto’s Elizabeth Gamble Garden. Even though it’s still early spring here, with our unseasonably warm weather, we couldn’t wait to see what early surprises we might find. As was expected, there was plenty to see in this early-spring garden. Like the Easter-egg drifts […]

Quiet reflections, gratitude and a holiday offer for you

Quiet reflections, gratitude and a holiday offer for you

This is the fourth night in a row where I’ve awoke at 3:00 in the morning, not feeling sick and nauseous as I typically do during this week of my cancer treatment, but wide awake and filled with gratitude and happiness. Night after night I’ve quietly laid here, letting my mind wander to where it […]

S.F. Conservatory of Flowers: Aquascapes & Pitcher Plant Bonanza

S.F. Conservatory of Flowers: Aquascapes & Pitcher Plant Bonanza

This past weekend my husband, Tom, and I spent an afternoon wandering through the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, enjoying the rare chance to sneak away and visit a different world for awhile. I have a confession – while I’ve been there at least a half dozen times in my life and, yes, it’s truly […]