Garden Design, Garden Makeover, Garden Coach
Roses Roses Roses Roses, Rhodos and Peonies were my first loves--at least my first plant loves. And they still rank really high on that scale. But whereas rhodos and peonies are pretty self-sufficient once you start them off right, roses will almost always need a little more management. It's still "winter", even tho' most of... Continue Reading →
Daphne Laureola A couple years ago I was walking over to a friend's house when I was arrested by the fragrance coming from a lovely compact shrub along the sidewalk. It took me a while to discover that it was Daphne laureola (Spurge Laurel)--which didn't surprise me, because my experience with Daphne so far is... Continue Reading →
Mostly we hate bugs. Unless they're Pixar bugs. We don't want ants in the house (never mind cockroaches!) Spiders are just plain awful, and beetles look intimidating. But in fact, none of them are bad for the garden. So here are a few (of the many) bugs that we can happily live with. Spitbug Inside... Continue Reading →
Any first blooms of the season are exciting, And somehow, roses are up there with the best of them. I have quite a few roses, some I love more than others, but Julia Child, now entering only its 4th year in my garden, is the best of the best. Her growth habit is restrained and... Continue Reading →
Everyone seems to want to grow herbs. When I look at custom garden designs, many of them have a dedicated "herb garden", often in a knot garden kind of look. Here's a link to a detailed How To for an Herb Knot Garden, thanks to DIY Network . Personally, I prefer to have my herbs scattered among... Continue Reading →
I'm sitting here in the living room doing some computer work, and intermittently something distracts me. I've just realized it's fragrance! I went outside an hour ago just to get some air, and was drawn into the garden by the scent of the Daphne odora, across from the front steps. Beside the front steps is Skimmia japonica, and... Continue Reading →
Real Life Garden Solutions 