Garden Design, Garden Makeover, Garden Coach
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 →
It worries me to see this: Those are dead needles, and on an "evergreen", one thinks "dying tree". But no need to worry after all. Even evergreens lose "expired" needles or leaves. Everything that's living and growing will eventually discard dead cells, and that's what's happening here. The "joint" where the needle or leaf meets... Continue Reading →
Current Favourite Tree Trees are wonderful! Yes, I know, redundant comment, but truth is, sometimes it's hard to persuade people to plant a tree in their small urban garden, because they imagine permanent shade, especially in our sun-challenged Wet Coast. Ta-dah! That's why breeders have focused on developing smaller and narrower cultivars of otherwise giant trees.... Continue Reading →
More About Trees Since I posted a few days ago about planting trees this year, I'm reminded about how easy it is to plant a tree badly (and how easy to not do the wrong things and do the right things instead!). I've written about this before, and another here, but from a slightly different viewpoint,... Continue Reading →
Is it time to plant a tree? Treekeepers is a program established recently (2013) to encourage Vancouverites and locals to plant trees. And their strategy is to almost give them away ($10 each!). Go to the website for details. According to Steve Whysall in his column (Mar 24, 2014), the city of Vancouver planted 10,000 trees (just in Vancouver)... Continue Reading →
It seems a lot of people and/or landscapers are under the misapprehension that when it comes to soil, more is better. This is not always the case. This volcano of soil is doing a couple of bad things to this poor rhodo. Firstly, stems and trunks should never be buried like this. You'll see more of... Continue Reading →
5 Design Tips--Pruning Small Trees We usually think the beauty of trees is either their foliage or their flowers. But let's not forget structure, shape, limbs and bark. IMHO some of the most beautiful trees are the ones with interesting trunk or limb shape (such as this Acer dissectum from a previous post), or beautiful... 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 