Garden Design, Garden Makeover, Garden Coach
This was actually going to be about "so much blue"... Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' But then I realized that most of what I thought was blue actually looked more purple, and even some flowers that were bluer than purple in real life, looked purpler than blue in images. Anemone nemerosa So this is just a... Continue Reading →
Another article from the home-and-garden website Houzz: 8 Ways a Garden Can draw You In. I'll write a post of my own on this subject in the future, and I've alluded to it in various past posts. (I'm always looking for ways to encourage residents/families to get out into the garden, not just look at... Continue Reading →
This was going to be a regular feature-- I didn't mean it to be an biennial feature! Washing birch trees??? How much time do you spend outside? "The science has shown that, although we think we like nature, we undervalue how much it helps us—how good it makes us feel." Soil is a living breathing... Continue Reading →
I can't pretend these are "good" floral designs, just opportunities to get the most out of the garden--seeing it outside but also bringing it inside. Westerland Rose, Europeana rose, Boxwood stems, Leycesteria formosa--which I won't bother with again, it only lasts one day. Octavia Hill rose, Karl Rosenfeld Peony, Turk's cap lily, Euphorbia characias, bracken... Continue Reading →
Haven't posted any bouquet pics since late last summer, but since some of my roses have been doing well, likewise peonies and filler flowers and greenery, it's time for a reveal: Festiva Maxima peony, Westerland Rose, Victoria California Lilac, Alba Camassia, Julia Child Rose, an amazing plum coloured iris the name of which I dis-remember,... Continue Reading →
I follow a lot of garden and landscape design writers/websites, but few are as practical as eGardenGo, a Portland Oregon based site with a main purpose of demonstrating great plant combinations. Any site that has a Pacific Northwest focus gets extra points from me; it means I can assume a lot of applicability right off... Continue Reading →
I determined this year to create more bouquets/floral arrangements than usual, altho' I wasn't sure how that would happen, since I've always thought I have a pretty colourless summer garden. As it turns out, even without the surprising dahlias ( I'm terrible at growing dahlias, unless they're ones I don't like), I actually have quite... Continue Reading →
Just a few garden pics:
I can't help myself. If I hear bees a-buzzin' and I think I can video them I have to do it. Can someone ID this bee for me? If I knew how, I'd have edited out that horrible Skytrain roar at the end... A few minutes earlier there was a giant bumble bee (I imagine... Continue Reading →
Take Advantage of Timing Yesterday I mentioned the two ephemerals Sanguinaria (bloodwort) and Erythronium (trout lily). The Sanguinaria was coming up under the foliage of the Asplenium (hart's tongue fern), and the Erythronium is concealed behind the Buxus (boxwood). But spring ephemerals are perennials that erupt, bloom, set seed and "die back" all in spring,... Continue Reading →
Real Life Garden Solutions 