While the large island border is always a reliable kaleidoscope of color and texture at this time of year (see photo above), I have a smaller planting bed next to our main patio that is rather more fickle. It receives blazing sun all day, has terrible, sticky, clay soil, is a magnet for rabbits and…

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Deer-Resistant Design book

It's been an exciting week – my latest book, Deer-Resistant Design: Fence-Free Gardens that Thrive Despite the Deer (Timber Press, 2019) arrived! I immediately sat down to write a note to each of the contributors and sign a copy for them – in between dancing around the kitchen! Let me explain a bit more about…

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sunny front garden

Do you have one of those tricky scenarios like I do: two containers that need to "match" yet have different lighting conditions? The two pots flanking our front door are always a challenge.The one on the right receives more direct sun than the one on the left, and the far left side of that left…

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My road trip last spring with the National Garden Bureau was a hortiholics adventure of the first order. I was one of four garden writers invited to attend the 2018 California Spring Trials (CAST) as their guest on a week long, plant-peeping extravaganza. CAST is the opportunity for plant breeders across the country to showcase…

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spring container garden

After being buried under snow for weeks, my Seattle garden is finally green again – with splashes of yellow, blue, pink, and white as spring-blooming perennials and shrubs wake up. It's so exciting to see color! Inevitably a few things look worse for wear after the winter – especially some of my containers, but rather…

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