As leaves fall from the trees it is tempting to consider them merely naked statues in the landscape until they are clothed once again in foliage. It is also tempting to stay inside by the fire rather than explore the garden! Yet the texture and color of bark and stems can add significant interest to…

As the last of the colorful leaves fall from the trees and blue skies turn gray – especially here in Seattle, I find myself yearning for color. Spring is many months away – I need something NOW and the new Lenten roses (Helleborus) fill that gap beautifully. Helleborus Gold Collection® grown by Skagit Gardens has…

I have a fabulous orange container. It's not a color I would ordinarily have chosen for our home but it was perfect for a magazine photo shoot we did this summer and I had been really looking forward to replanting it for fall and winter knowing that I would have fun playing off its exhibitionist…

I need to choose tile for our bathroom. Selecting a color palette was easy – soft earth tones. I could even make a quick decision on the material – either porcelain or ceramic since as much as I love natural stone it is more maintenance than I want. After that comes the hard part –…

I had the opportunity recently to visit Tucson, Arizona and was fascinated to see a landscape so different from the lush Pacific Northwest. Instead of ferns and mossy glades beneath towering evergreens the arid desert landscape was filled with cacti, succulents and other drought tolerant specimens piercing the rocky terrain. To some this stark landscape…

Many of you enjoyed last week’s post on the katsura tree, loving its caramel apple scent as much as I do. Did you know that there are also several shrubs and perennials which spice up the fall garden with their fragrance too? Glossy abelia (Abelia x grandiflora) is a somewhat sprawling shrub with tubular white…

I must have raised a few eyebrows as I went around the nursery sniffing like a bloodhound. I just couldn't figure it out. I knew I could smell cotton candy (UK translation – candy floss) but there were none to be seen, yet that sweet sugar and cinnamon fragrance was wafting all around me. In confusion I…

Sometimes we need to be thrown a challenge to discover something new. This week I received sample of several trees, shrubs and perennials to try in my fall container designs. They were sent to me by Qualitree, a grower in British Columbia after they read my recent article on Great Conifers for Fall Containers. When…

It’s a bittersweet moment when you have to brace yourself to pull out all that lush summer growth, knowing that the replacements will inevitably look puny by comparison. I’ve just grappled with yards of overly – exuberant sweet potato vine, cutting back its long chartreuse tendrils of heart shaped leaves, digging deep in the containers…

Are your coleus collapsing and your petunias in a funk? Then it’s time to rethink those container gardens and freshen them up for fall. The question I am asked most frequently is “What can I add for fall and winter that will be evergreen?” Well I could write a book answering that question – so…