Posts Tagged ‘Focal points’
Layers in the Winter Garden
Layering is a way of life here in the Pacific Northwest where on any given day, regardless of the season, you may be reaching for a fleece jacket one minute and peeling down to a T-shirt the next. As I looked outside early this morning the sun was just beginning to rise over the tree…
Read MoreA Garden to Grow Into
It was the all too familiar scenario; a charming new home with a small, non-functional back garden. With a patio barely big enough to accommodate the BBQ and a lawn that was saturated for much of the year there was nowhere to sit and enjoy a family meal, let alone a spot for a child…
Read MoreMy #1 Deer-Resistant Perennial; Arkansas blue star
Yes I know you're thinking of summer annuals and fragrant roses. It's almost June! Yet now is the time to plan for the best ever fall display; in about three years time! Let me tell you about why Arkansas blue star (Amsonia hubrichtii) is the best perennial I've ever grown. (Hint: it's not about the…
Read MoreBark, Buds, Berries, & Blooms: Winter Snapshots from Virginia
After a red-eye flight across the country and barely two hours of sleep, what would YOU do to recover? Yup – head out to a garden of course! And that's exactly what I did when I arrived in Norfolk, Virginia Beach last Sunday, albeit via Starbucks (caffeine was a pre-requisite after all). I was in…
Read MoreDesigning a Winter Wonderland
It's all very well knowing that for a garden to look good in winter it has to have "good bones". But what do you do when a foot or more of snow turns those bones into a lumpy graveyard? Seriously – since when do white lumps look like anything other than just white lumps? When…
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