Garden Design, Garden Makeover, Garden Coach
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 stunning Japanese Maple at the Bob Prittie Library (Burnaby) looks better right now than almost any other time of the year. Yes, the fringe of red leaves and the lake underneath contribute. But even more than that is the blackness of the bark and the structure of the tree–now visible without leaves. Key to… Continue Reading →
The “bones” of a garden are usually provided with two very different features: hardscape and shrubs. I’ll leave the hardscape to another post and address shrubs for now. Layers I think the thing I find the most essential in a perennial border or garden space is variety of heights. Even when my garden was very… Continue Reading →
Winter Blooms For the last few days I’ve had a surprise every time I step out the front door or return to the front door. An unexpected fragrance wafts up from somewhere, and I look around to see what it is. In fact the first day I smelled it–probably one week ago– it didn’t even… Continue Reading →
5 Elements to Designing Curb Appeal What really constitutes”curb appeal”? Is it just making the front of the house look nice? Is it just a sales tactic, like baking bread or lighting a fragrant candle? In looking through pages and pages of Houzz pictures, I’ve determined the following 5 (of course) landscaping elements that are… Continue Reading →
A How-To on Pergolas and Arbours (or Arbors) I’ve been trying to get the definitive answer to “What’s the difference between a arbour and a pergola?” There is no definitive answer. The moment you think you’ve found one, some other word-police will dispute it. So here’s MY definition: an arbour is a small archway supporting… Continue Reading →
5 Ways to Create a Welcoming Entryway People approach your house in one of only two ways: either they drive up or they walk up. And if they drive up, they still walk to the door. How will you make that approach both welcoming and personal? If you’re ready to make some changes, and are not… Continue Reading →
So you’ve got this space, and you’d love to turn it into a sanctuary far from the madding crowd. A few keys to keep in mind when planning or renovating your garden are rest and roam: allow the eye to rest (i.e., not TOO busy, or pauses in the chaos), and provide a route for… Continue Reading →
Real Life Garden Solutions 