Garden Design, Garden Makeover, Garden Coach
I read an article the other day about propagating shrubs from softwood cuttings, which inspired me to have a go. I have two Sambucus nigras-- a 'Black Lace' and a 'Black Beauty'. The 'Black Beauty' has been wonderful--dark foliage, a lovely shape, and beautiful umbrella-like pink flowers in the late spring. 'Black Lace' should be the... Continue Reading →
Oh dear, I fell like RLGS is turning into an Ad Agency. Today I got an e-newsletter from North Coast Gardening about some Kindle books that Amazon has on sale. So of course I checked them out, and within a minute I was the proud owner of another Tracy DiSabato-Aust book, "The Well-Tended Perennial Garden". I already... Continue Reading →
I've been adding to a new Pinterest Board I've called "Details"--pictures I've taken on my walks of interesting gardens or garden features. E.g. above is a picture of a tall narrow house on a very narrow lot with a Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'Green Arrow'. I like the fit, the look, and the balance with the... Continue Reading →
Retro-Fit Garden Rooms "The way you view a garden is basically the route your eyes take as you look at it. If you try to take in the whole garden with one glance, chances are it’s going to be quite boring. Ideally, you want to be able to go from one point of interest to... 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 →
Favourite Things--Hedges I'm not generally a big fan of closing in a property with ultra-privacy screening. Tall fences, dense cedars and laurels--as we've seen before, they just say "KEEP OUT". I prefer the "come on in and have a look" style of garden design. Having said that, hedging isn't always a bad thing even for... Continue Reading →
Rain Gardens--Part 1 I've been reading up on Rain Gardens--timely, in view of the amount of rain we've had here in coastal BC the last two days! A Rain Garden is a planted area designed to collect and gradually discharge storm water back into the ground. The areas from which storm water is collected include... Continue Reading →
I often look to Houzz for ideas when I'm creating a design or just thinking about a type of property. Since I'm in an urban setting, most of our local properties are less than 8,000 s.f.Here then is my Houzz Ideabook on "Small Back Yards"--amazing things that you can build into very small spaces. Most... Continue Reading →
How to use morning and evening light to your best advantage It's late October, but still a great time to be planting here in coastal BC. And one of the things I've loved about my own garden is how I serendipitously planted some shrubs and perennials where they'll GLOW in morning or evening light. And... Continue Reading →
Autumn is a great time to plan and begin to develop new garden beds for next year-- as though you didn't have enough to do. Sheet Mulching, or not, or how to save yourself a lot of work Sheet mulching is the process of layering lots of different compostable materials OVER your grass in order to create... Continue Reading →
Real Life Garden Solutions 