Posts Tagged ‘trees’
When good plants go bad
I have always loved the pristine white bark of the Himalayan white birch (Betula utilis var. jacquemontii) and it was an obvious choice to anchor the far end of our island bed where it was highly visible from many vantage points. When a colleague offered me two more I created a small grove of these,…
Read MoreColor-Changing Evergreens
Funnily enough, no-one has ever asked me to design a high maintenance garden, yet there is a common misconception that low maintenance translates to an endless row of boxwood or a border entirely devoted to rhododendrons. While these may be easy care they certainly won’t win any design awards. Yet evergreen trees and shrubs are…
Read MoreDesign Evolution: doing it your way
As an independent designer I'm in the fortunate position of being able to design gardens that will be professionally installed by my recommended contractors*, by the homeowners themselves, or even by another preferred and local-to-the-site contractor. (*I never accept a referral fee so my recommendation is based on the fact that they always do outstanding…
Read MoreLayers 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 MorePlanning Fabulous Fall Combinations
Stop what you're doing for a moment, look out of the window, and take a long, hard look at your fall garden. What do you see? I'm sure there are individual trees or shrubs that are breathtaking, but are they shown off to their best advantage? Do they read as random sparks here and there,…
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