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 […]
There’s something alluring about beautiful plants that have a bite to them. While I don’t go out of my way to design gardens that will intentionally impale or poison people, I also don’t go out of my way to avoid plants that might have potential for pain. Just like lots of people I know, sometimes […]
Knock-out kniphofias (aka: Red Hot Pokers) are a surefire way to add exciting vertical interest to any garden. Beginning in mid-spring, slender, snake-like stalks rise from a clump of grass-like foliage (sometimes appearing to grow a few inches a day!) Then, look out as the flowers begin to put on their show, slowly opening from […]
Last week I spent a few days with Jeanette Sinclair (of Woodside Images) in Southern California’s charming little town of Santa Paula, visiting Ball Horticulture’s Spring Trials to see what new treasures they had to offer the plant world. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Spring Trials, Jeanette compares it to New York’s Fashion […]
Have you ever toured a garden, when the moment you stepped through the front gate you were instantly transported to another time and place? That was the case with Lecia Davis’s magnificent garden in Laguna Beach, California. I had the opportunity to visit this exquisite garden a few weeks ago and was completely caught off […]
Thanksgiving has come and gone, as has the turkey, the leftovers and the relatives. Having survived Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and now Cyber Monday, it seems to me the world is in a shopping frenzy. Everyone is in a mad race to find the perfect gift for their loved ones and it’s pure mayhem […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
This year my ‘Sea Jade’ phormium surprised me by sending up several towering stalks of flowers. ‘Sea Jade’ has gorgeous olive green foliage with a subtle pink stripe down the middle. This variety also appreciates a bit of shade if planted in really hot, sunny areas. This is a mid-sized flax, topping out at 4’x4′ […]
After designing gardens for over 20 years, I’ve noticed more and more people want to replace their little-used front lawn with an environmentally friendly garden. The main stumbling block, however, is they aren’t quite sure what to do once the lawn is gone. I hear variations of the same concerns: it’ll look too much like […]
I love all gardens. I don’t think there’s a single style that I don’t appreciate. And that’s part of the charm of gardeners – we’re all so different yet we all appreciate one another’s passion. Sometimes the differences are subtle, sometimes they’re as opposite as night and day. But either way, part of the […]
