Today I want to share with a darling jewel-box courtyard (that’s wheelchair friendly, too!) Three years ago our local newspaper ran a story on our (then) new book, Garden Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces. Within 24 hours, I received a phone call from Judy, who was in desperate need of transforming […]
Without a doubt, one of my very favorite places in New York is Central Park’s Conservatory Garden. This was my first time visiting this garden, and I’ll admit I mistakenly thought it would be yet one more formal garden filled with the predictable evergreens, fountains and acres of lawn (pretty, but probably not the most […]
Here we are at the end of May and I’m happy to share with you the final phase of my front garden re-do! As you may recall, in January I finally decided to remove my little-used front lawn and replace it with a low-water garden (you can read about it here and here). After moving around my new […]
I love attending Proven Winners’ annual Spring Trials, as it’s a chance to see firsthand the latest and greatest from well-respected growers around the country. And even though the plants won’t be available for purchase until 2015, it’s exciting to know what we can look forward to. The temptation to grab a few and run […]
It’s a new year and with it comes the oh-so-familiar new year’s resolutions. And while I rarely keep the ones I make, this is a resolution that’s long overdue and one that I’m thrilled to undertake: getting rid of my unused front lawn. With California’s lowest recorded rainfall in its history (that’s over 160 years!), the timing is perfect to practice […]
A few days ago I spoke to my friend who lives in Boston, and when I complained that my garden was taking a beating during a recent week of unrelenting 28-degree temperatures, he was shocked – in California? Yes, even in the land of sunshine it often dips below freezing on a cold winter night, […]
As a designer, I’m often asked how I go about deciding how and where to begin when it comes to transforming a garden bed. While visualizing where to begin is relatively easy for me (it’s what I do for a living, after all!) I realize that’s not necessarily the case for others. In fact, I experienced […]
There’s something magical about fall colors in the garden, isn’t there? My favorite time of year is the moment I open my front door and see my Japanese maples and Crepe Myrtle trees have turned their fiery shades of yellow, red and orange. These colors signal the calm before the storm (the storms from both […]
I’m thrilled to announce that one of the gardens I designed for a client is featured in this month’s Sunset magazine. In today’s post, I thought I’d talk about another aspect of this garden – using the very-gray colored dymondia margaretae as a lawn substitute. And not just the ground cover itself, but the tricks […]
When spotting the smooth and shiny foliage of a colorful coprosma, it’s only a matter of seconds before my client asks ‘What IS that plant?’ Commonly known as a ‘Mirror Plant’, coprosma’s foliage looks like someone meticulously shellacked each perfectly shaped oval leaf. Yes, they’re that shiny. Finding foliage with smooth and reflective surfaces isn’t always easy, which […]
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 […]
Sonoma’s Cornerstone Gardens is one of my very favorite public gardens to visit any time of year. In my opinion, though, the fall is the best time of all. Not only are the summer crowds long gone but the colors of fall are just beginning to explode. No longer filled with grapes, the surrounding vineyards […]
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