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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Small Garden Re-Imagined: Buffalo Style

Do you like garden tours? I try to go to a few local ones each year, but this summer I had the opportunity to attend what can only be described as a garden tour on steroids – Garden Walk Buffalo. More than 400 private and public gardens in Buffalo, NY are open for self guided…

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From Coast to Coast – Travel Snapshots

It's been an exciting few weeks visiting North Carolina and then southern California. Both trips were work-related but of course there is always time for a little garden sight seeing! Here is a roundup of a few of my favorite travel snapshots together with a selection from a bonus garden visit to a remarkable local…

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Using a Signature Color

The display gardens from the 2017 Northwest Flower & Garden Show may be dismantled but the memories and design inspiration will feed my creative soul for years to come thanks to photographs . As I reviewed my images this morning I was struck once again how several designers had used orange as a signature color.…

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Serenity in Seattle; my favorite display

While most visitors to the 2016 Northwest Flower and Garden Show were jostling for position to photograph the large display gardens, I found myself drawn to the smaller City Living  exhibits. Each designer worked with a 6 x 12 space defined by pavers to represent a high rise apartment balcony. The criteria was that all materials…

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