Last month I dismantled one of my favorite garden beds so we could finally finish painting the house. A year ago we had our house painted, but I wouldn’t let them paint one remaining wall, as my bougainvillea was in full bloom and there was no way I was about to cut it back prematurely! […]
A few years ago my friend (and gardener extraordinaire) Shawna Coronado traveled to the Netherlands to spend a little time with the folks at the DeWit Tool company. Shawna had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of not only designing, but making the prototype of her ideal version of a potting soil scoop. The scoop has since been […]
The other day my parents and I were reminiscing about the time I decapitated their very first little garden. I was only two years old, and my dad was anxiously waiting for the day when the new seed mat (that he and my mother had carefully tended over several weeks) would transform into the lush […]
You can always tell when people are sick and tired of winter when flashy accessories start popping up throughout the garden! This past week, while visiting Sunset Magazine’s test gardens and those of the San Francisco Garden Show, I was struck by the amount of vibrant colors everywhere. And also, interestingly enough, how the color […]
To celebrate the release of Pam Penick’s new book, Lawn Gone! Low-Maintenance, Sustainable, Attractive Alternatives for Your Yard, you’re all invited to attend her Lawn Gone Book Party – with some very cool party prizes! Six garden blogging friends and I are hosting 7 great giveaways this week, all related to the theme of – […]
For those of you looking for a totally different kind of gardening book – one that’s fun to use and that will definitely make you laugh out loud, all the while giving you down-to-earth practical advice then this book is for you. Seriously – Amanda is awesome. For those of you who aren’t familiar with […]
There’s something magical about a winter garden, and I never pass up an opportunity to visit one. Especially one that’s known for looking it’s best during the bleakest months of the year. While in Seattle this past weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting the J. Witt Winter Garden in the Washington Park Arboretum. I […]
For those of you who read my blog, you’re probably aware that I’m very photo-driven. I can’t get seem to get enough beautiful garden photographs and have to use restraint when writing a new post. I love taking them, I love looking at them, and they’re often the only way I know best how to […]
Without a doubt, the heart of my garden is my transformed shed. This month my shed is being featured in Sunset Magazine (omg – so excited!) I’ve grown up with Sunset in the house in one form or another, whether it was magazines or DIY garden books lying around my mother’s and grandmother’s house. So […]
I’m thrilled to introduce one of the best books to hit the stands this year – Why Grow That, When You Can Grow This, by my good friend Andrew Keys (Timberpress, 2012). Now you may be thinking “Oh – she’s clearly biased, no doubt, since she just said they’re good friends.” Fair enough. But if […]
My garden-watering meltdown had been brewing for years. It came to a head this past summer when I had finally had enough of the hoses in my garden constantly kinking every time I moved a few feet. My husband would try to help, buying me ‘the best’ the big box stores had to offer (promising […]
You know when you see a book and you just know it’s gonna be good? Well, that’s how I felt about The Layered Garden, by David L. Culp, and photographed by the talented Rob Cardillo. And I knew I held a gem in my hands when I read the glowing forward, written by Lauren Springer […]
