Skinny Shrubs for Tight Spaces

When I realized that my post Skinny Conifers for Tight Spaces has been read over 40,000 times, it inspired me to create a  free booklet for my newsletter subscribers; Top 10 Skinny Trees for Tight Spaces, which expanded that selection to include deciduous and flowering trees as well as conifers. That too has been well…

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A Spring Perennial you NEED – Epimedium

Bleeding hearts (Dicentra sp.) get all the love. Cute name. Delicate foliage. Distinctive blooms. Yet there is another spring blooming perennial I get even more excited about. Whether you know it by the common name Bishop's hat (UK), barrenwort (USA) or the botanical name Epimedium, this perennial deserves your consideration for a space in the…

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Imagination Needed Here!

Sometimes there are just too many choices. You know the scenario: there is an opportunity to buy a new plant (or three) but you are dizzy with all the possibilities and can't seem to settle on a final decision. Well that's me right now – so I'm inviting you to share your ideas. The Challenge…

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Big Ideas for Using Color in Small Spaces

So much color, so many ideas, so little time! That's the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in a nutshell. Thank goodness for my camera because that's how I can look back on special visual highlights to glean ideas for my own garden and share some of my favorites with you. In this post I'm focusing…

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Fearless Design- secrets to using bold color in the garden

The Northwest Flower and Garden Show is always a source of inspiration and this year was no exception. One display garden that really caught my eye was called Contained Excitement, designed by my good friend and former colleague Lori DeLeuw (Designs by deLeuw) and David Rogers (Issaquah Landscaping). This was their design statement: Here’s the…

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