When selecting flowers to attract hummingbirds to your garden, it's easy to focus on summer blooms such as fuchsia and salvia, yet there are so many early spring perennials and shrubs that can entice them. What's more, this list of my personal favorites is also drought tolerant (once established), deer-resistant and even rabbit-resistant! Even if…

We finally saw blue skies in Seattle this week, so of course I rushed into the garden knowing there was a long 'to do' list to tackle. However, the reality is that I can't manage to work outside for a full day anymore, I need a tea break every two hours and after four hours…

When scouting for interesting destinations for my tour guests, I often seek out lesser-known gems that offer unique insights into local history and culture in addition to great gardens. I was struggling for a way to enrich our visit to South Wales that would offer our guests a greater appreciation for the nations past, their…

It's snowing outside and skies are grey, which means I'm likely to do two things: Go swimming in Puget Sound (yes, seriously), and Plan a visit to a garden show (equally seriously). If you're reading this garden blog I'm going to make the assumption that you may be more interested in the latter so let's…

Deer-challenged gardeners have a somewhat reduced plant palette to choose from since the aim is to select plants that the deer will leave alone. Sadly, that means avoiding roses, hydrangeas, mock orange and camellia to name but a few. The good news is that there are still plenty of outstanding shrubs that are not only…

With seed catalogs arriving daily, gardeners are in full planning and dreaming mode. As much as I enjoy growing a few things from seed it's also really exciting to be able to purchase fully grown plants and of course I want to see what is both new and deer-resistant. Proven Winners always comes up with…

Until next year xx

One project often leads to another. In this instance, the construction of a workshop meant re-grading and re-thinking the back garden of a lovely  home in Sammamish, WA, a popular residential neighborhoood in the Greater Seattle area. In its favor this garden was a good size, had some interesting elevation changes and several mature trees…

It's a busy week for all those of us who celebrate Thanksgiving, so I'm going to keep this weeks blog post simple and repeat my closing words in a recent newsletter. Choosing Gratitude It's time to dig up parsnips and carrots for this weeks Thanksgiving dinner, and roast the butternut squash to turn them into…

When the homeowners of this beautiful Sammamish, WA home could no longer see out of their front windows, they knew it was time to call me. I had already re-designed their back garden (I'll share that another day) so I knew their tastes as well as the home itself. It's a common problem: a garden…