Harmony in the Garden Blog

While visiting Sonoma earlier this summer, I told my husband that I just had to see a nursery located in Sebastapol, just a few miles away. He groaned, assuming that once again he’d be stuck wandering alone through the aisles of yet another nursery while I quickly disappeared, only to return an hour later with a …

It’s no secret that this past year has been a whopper for me.  During most of my chemotherapy treatments I was able to continue writing and public speaking, but it became increasingly more difficult as time went on. After my mastectomy (and a few ‘hiccups’ along the way) I just needed to hibernate for awhile …

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 …

Here we are in the early days of February, and my zone 9 garden is filled with heavenly fragrance. There’s still a few leaves hanging on to deciduous branches for dear life, but with each gentle breeze the leaves quickly lose their grip, leaving behind one skeletal shrub after another. Thank heavens for the evergreen …

Trees and shrubs that offer winter berries are so important to include in your garden’s design.  Not only for hungry birds, but because the berries themselves add much-needed seasonal color to winter’s more muted landscape. Even though it’s the middle of January, my garden is humming with activity. As I write this, I can see …