Posts Tagged ‘shrubs’
Reclaiming the Garden
I was recently invited to redesign a back garden in Kirkland, WA. To the homeowners the main priority was a need for privacy from neighboring homes yet to me the biggest challenge was function. How would this couple use their new space and how would they get into it? Before – the challenges A…
Read MoreTop Perennials for Summer Pots
When I design container gardens nothing is safe! I explore everything from dwarf trees and slow growing shrubs to groundcovers, annuals and even houseplants (although I wait until night temperatures are stable at 55' or above for those). I also include a lot of perennials in my designs; both evergreen and herbaceous types as they…
Read MorePunch Up the Color!
Looking for a new color twist this year? Try magenta on for size. Neither pink nor purple, magenta leans towards fuchsia but is deeper. Designer Daniel Mount is one of the best colorists I know. Where I would settle for a pleasing color echo he achieves that but then kicks it up a notch to become exceptional. In…
Read MoreScratch and Sniff
Seattle is having an unprecedented mild spell which tempted me out to visit the winter garden at the University of Washington arboretum this weekend. The birds were singing, the frogs were….doing what frogs do, the hummingbirds were dipping and diving and people were swooning. Really? Yes really. Pure olfactory overload – the witch hazels are…
Read MoreNew Easy Care Shrubs for 2015
Gardening in deer-prone country is so frustrating. As a designer I envision grand plant and color combinations in my mind – only to struggle to then find deer resistant plants that fulfill those criteria of shape, color and form. As a result I feel as though I'm working with a very limited plant palette at…
Read More