This is my favorite time of year, with fall colors at their peak. The towering maples, liquid ambers, and black oak trees are on fire right now, clearly the stars of the show. But there’s plenty of drama happening lower to the ground, too, thanks to some surprising sources of fall color. And it’s not […]
When designing the front entrance of a client’s new garden, I know I’ve succeeded in creating something special when: 1. I spy someone walking down the street and they begin to slow their pace, 2. They then lean in to take a closer look, and… 3. They whip out their cell phone to snap a […]
Yes, you read that right – I enjoy four seasons of salvias in my garden, with blooms stretching from early spring through fall and even into winter. Living in a temperate Zone 9 climate, my winters are milder than those in colder regions, but that doesn’t mean gardeners elsewhere can’t enjoy long-lasting salvia color. With […]
Transforming a sloping front garden is tricky for a variety of reasons: poor drainage and water run-off, soil erosion, and difficulty in maneuvering around, just to name a few. I recently visited my client’s garden to see how it’s fared one year later, and WOW – it’s amazing! I usually tell my clients to wait […]
Creating contrast in the garden is such an important design principle, I thought it would be helpful to show the many different ways I accomplished this in my modified meadow. You may remember my post Creating a Rain Garden (if not, click here.) In that article, I mentioned my goal was not only to transform […]
Today I’m sharing garden inspiration using dead trees and branches, because if you garden long enough, loss is inevitable. What do you do when a beloved tree gives up the ghost? Or when several trees must be removed to make way for a new home or garden? Or when you come home from vacation to […]
Stachys (Lamb’s Ear’ and succulents When designing gardens, I never forget to focus on what I call the 4 C’s: corners, cracks, crannies, and crevices. These overlooked spaces( tiny gaps in pathways, narrow corners, and small planting pockets) are often missed, but they’re some of the most valuable real estate in your garden. My philosophy […]
While spending the day at the San Diego Botanic Garden, my favorite moment was walking around the corner and discovering I was in the middle of a party with life-sized Succulent People. Pat Hammer (who was also the Botanic Garden’s Director of Operations,) is the genius behind these incredible works of art. She even made […]
Welcome to Lani Freymiller’s magnificent monochromatic garden! What’s a monochromatic garden? It’s one that uses a very limited color palette. I’ve noticed that gardeners are often reluctant to try their hand at creating a monochromatic garden for fear of it looking a tad uninspiring. Which is understandable, as it can be a tad tricky to […]
Gardening under oak trees and learning to love dry-shade plants go hand-in-hand. Sensitive to summer irrigation, fertilizers, and root disturbance means creating a garden near an oak tree requires a delicate touch. Indeed, it can be tricky to accomplish. That’s why the careful selection and placement of plants for dry shade s critical for the tree’s […]
Francoa ramosa is one of my favorite perennials for dry shade. I’ve had them grow equally happy in fairly deep shade to bright shade, requiring little water once established. In fact, in my zone 9 garden, they’re evergreen, dying back a bit to form a tidy green mound before starting the show all over again […]
I LOVE ornamental oxalis in the garden! Before you all think I’ve lost my mind, I’m not talking about the horribly invasive oxalis weed that threatens to take over lawns and gardens everywhere. I’m talking about the many varieties of colorful and well-behaved ornamental oxalis hybrids. The ornamental varieties often get overlooked in the nurseries, […]
