Goodbye Lovely Leaves!
It’s that time of year again, when our gardens are aflutter with leaves falling (and falling and falling), blanketing our beds with brilliant shades of yellow, orange and red. Ever wonder why leaves fall?
A low-water, high-style succulent garden in San Diego
I don’t think I’ve ever been as rude to another designer as I was when I saw this garden. A few weeks ago I visited my good friend Debra Lee Baldwin who graciously introduced me to a wonderful landscape designer, Frank Mitzel of Aesthetic Design. Frank kindly took us to see a garden that he […]
Wordless Wednesday – Going, Going, Gone!
Flora’s colorful containers
A few weeks ago I spent an afternoon at Flora Grubb Gardens as I needed a little inspiration for some upcoming container projects. Flora never lets me down! It was a beautiful fall day when the sun’s gentle rays allow everything to glow just a little bit brighter. For those of you not familiar with this […]
Plants for pennies…
Do you know how easy it is to get several plants for the price of one? Some of my favorite 2-for-1 plants (actually it’s more like 10-for-1) are coleus. Just snap off a stem, stick it in a glass of water for about 10 days, and when you have lots of little roots you just […]
The best (and easiest!) herbal ice tea recipe
Phew – it’s a warm one this weekend! We haven’t had very many hot days this summer so the warmth is welcome around here. My green tomatoes are crying out for a little heat so they can ripen (okay, they don’t really care – it’s me who’s crying out for it!!) The herbs in […]
Last day of summer in our veggie patch
Today is the last day of summer for my daughter and one that’s always a little sad for me. While part of me relishes the fact that she’ll be going back to school leaving me plenty of time to write and design, part of me will really miss her company. The older Emily gets, the […]
Think vertically when designing side yards
One of my favorite chapters in my first book Garden Up!, tackles a common problem many gardeners face – what to do with those narrow side yards? These awkward spaces are often neglected, turning into dumping grounds for junky items collected over the years. While it’s true we all need a place to store some of this […]
Lake Tahoe’s Stately Corn Lillies
I think the official number of tourists who visit Lake Tahoe every summer is something like a zillion, give or take a few. Getting from one place to another on the lake means you’ll be driving along beautiful highway 89, most likely looking at (you guessed it) the lake. However, sometimes if you turn your head […]
Almost Wordless Wednesday – Snapping Turtle
As usual, this is ‘almost’ a Wordless Wednesday post. A few weeks ago, while vacationing in Connecticut, we drove past this giant snapping turtle bravely crossing the road. Being from California, and never seeing one in person, we pulled over so I could play tourist and take a photo.
Cutest tool shed ever!
My friends, Michelle and Rob, have the cutest tool shed ever! Just this year, Rob built this for Michelle out of materials he salvaged either on their property or elsewhere around town – truly a labor of love. I love how it tucks in so nicely within the beautiful perennial bed instead of relegated to […]
50 Beautiful Deer Resistant Plants – Book Review
50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants The Prettiest Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs, and Shrubs that Deer Don’t Eat Written by Ruth Rogers Clausen Deer are one of the challenges (understatement!) I face most often when designing gardens for my clients in Northern California. Most of my clients live in the hills with border Santa Cruz Mountains (Los Altos, […]