Garden Design, Garden Makeover, Garden Coach
This client's front garden was designed to have a large planter in the centre of a flagstone spiral. But finding the right container took us longer than anticipated, and in the meantime she saw a winter-decorated planter that she loved. So this is what we created, using the original planting plan, modified. Ingredients: Bowl shaped... Continue Reading →
Winter containers I've lately been looking at Pinterest "Winter containers", and unsurprisingly, a lot of pins are containers designed by Deborah Silver, of Detroit Garden Works. She has a distinctive personal style--you can always identify her designs when you see a page of google images. Here are a few examples: So I decided to have... Continue Reading →
I was at a garden clinic on Saturday, where a couple asked about what they might plant in their window boxes. As I think more about it, I'd give them different advice now than I did on Saturday. Not that my advice was necessarily wrong, just not the best for what they actually wanted. Their window boxes... Continue Reading →
Variant of the guerrilla gardener: http://vimeo.com/64662899
So I'll recap the story. Ben's wife and little son have been gone all summer and are coming back in two weeks. He wants to do something nice for them and asks for a balcony design. This is one of my favourite balcony pictures: And because of its simplicity, that is the idea I gave... Continue Reading →
As promised, here's another instalment of 5 Great Containers, this time a variant on the formula--"One Tree, One small Evergreen, One tall Perennial, One fluffy Perennial, One Grass". I saw this amazing grafted Cotoneaster (some feel this is an artificial-looking device, but what is art but an artificial device?), and had to buy it. My original... Continue Reading →
In this city of townhouses, condos, and inevitably balconies, making those balconies inviting, comfy, artistic, creative, useful and green is becoming a key aspect of "landscape" design. Enter Houzz, and their seemingly unlimited collection of everything related to indoor/outdoor living. Like my Pinterest boards, my Houzz Ideabooks are multiplying like rabbits. In my search for small garden ideas,... Continue Reading →
Another Japanese Maple As promised, here's another container for the balcony garden. Remember, this is a south facing garden on the 7th floor, with a duplicate balcony above it on the 8th floor, so it gets a little shelter from storms, but is therefore in a rain shadow. Don't forget to water your outdoor container garden,... Continue Reading →
A few days ago I blogged about the client who wanted to surprise his wife with a beautiful balcony. And I showed you the first of 5 great containers. Here is the first: The Tree The main plant is of course the Japanese Maple--Acer palmatum 'Viridis'. This is one of the more sun-tolerant Japanese Maples,... Continue Reading →
The Site A client has a small trapezoid-shaped balcony that he wants to beautify with containers for little cost. Specifically he wants to beautify it before his wife returns from visiting family, as a surprise! What's more, he wasn't exactly sure what she would like or not like. The balcony occupies the whole side of... Continue Reading →
Real Life Garden Solutions 