February is a frantic month!  It’s time order seeds, walk the garden noting daily changes, make lists of must have plants for the new year and think about upcoming garden events. It is hard to find time to work so that I can purchase plants and essentials like compost.  Guess I sleep less.

About the only time I yearn for a larger garden is in late January and February when my witch hazel, Hamamelis ‘Arnold Promise’ blooms.  It is my favorite small tree–right now the branches are studded with clusters of bright yellow  spidery petals–instant sunshine even on the darkest day. … Continue Reading

Treasures lurk in the winter garden disguised by shifting foggy, gray light,  recumbent twigs and branches dislocated by the east wind and a mulch of dank, slimy, saturated leaves.  Even in the worst weather I explore the garden daily searching for signs of emerging life. The foray outside in between bouts of pouring rain and wind is well worth the bother of donning muck boots, rain coat and hat.

Iris unguicularis never fails to amaze.  Native to such far away places as Greece, Turkey and Tunisia it has … Continue Reading

It’s been a year almost to the day since the cherry tree debacle that forever altered the face of the back garden.  Interesting to be my own client and follow all the steps in the design process.  We studied pics of how the garden was before the tree fell–and relied on our memories and input from neighbors and friends for clarity about how we used the space–for entertaining, eating and cooking, playing and contemplation. The decision to alter the circulation pattern, add a new sitting space and construct a structure with a roof was unanimous.

Messy sketches and concepts evolved into … Continue Reading

“On the road again” is the theme for a weekend nursery foray to the Emerald City.  I am teaching a seminar at Molbak’s Garden and Home in Woodinville which is just outside Seattle.  Having never visited Molbak’s I am excited about speaking  to and meeting their customers and exploring the  nursery for the first time.  Am anticipating a weekend of satiated plant lust.

Seminars, vendors and informal demonstrations are all part of Molbak’s Spring Celebration Weekend, April 10 and 11.  At 10-11 am Saturday  I’ll present Voluptuous Vignettes: The Art of Perennial Plant Combinations focusing on creating expressive, artistic and culturally … Continue Reading

Working in the garden in the pouring rain isn’t my favorite pastime but Sunday was an exception.  Friend and fellow hort head, Richie Steffen, curator of the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle, came down to  help us build a stumpery in our back garden. So you ask –what is a stumpery? The name infers something unsavory but this garden structure is lovely, naturalistic  hold-over from the Victorian era.  Victorians crafted stumps, driftwood, logs, rotting wood and bark into artful three dimensional garden features.  Ferns, lichens, moss and woodland perennials are planted in crevices between the logs, in rotted … Continue Reading

Spent two days last week at the San Francisco Flower Show.  Two years ago the show moved to San Mateo south of San Fran.   The new venue is terrific, flat and open with space outside for art installations and food vendors.  But the show was disappointing and didn’t have nearly the pizazz of either NW Flower and Garden Show or the Portland YGP Show.  The parking lot was full and the show crowded but folks didn’t seem excited or engaged.

As a long time show goer I was surprised by an encounter with a proprietary and snippy vendor  who only … Continue Reading

Demolition in the back garden continues apace.  Daughter Melissa and neighbor Aaron are almost finished pulling out all the brick pathways which is proving to be a tedious task.  A small crowbar, hammer and wire brush are the tools of the trade.  Piles of brick, stacked according to size and color,  line the two terraces.  When we built the garden we had lots of ideas and energy but no money for building materials.  Fred watched the freebie ads and stopped whenever he saw a building being demolished.  The pathways evolved as his stash of recycled brick burgeoned.  The bricks are … Continue Reading

Area gardener’s who attended the Yard, Garden and Patio Show at the Oregon Convention Center last weekend were treated to an exciting event.  Garden designer Lauren Hall-Behrens captured the spirit of the 3 day garden showcase when she remarked that ” it felt like a horticultural event rather than a trade show.” Kudos to the Oregon Association of Nurseries, show producers,  for their belief that the regional horticulture community would support their endeavors.

The presence of 25 Cracked Pots vendors created a buzz.  The aisle dedicated to this not-for-profit group of artists who create art for home and garden from recycled … Continue Reading

Just returned home from  Seattle and the Northwest Flower Show–the annual kickoff event for the gardening year in our region.  Last years’ show had a bittersweet edge.  Duane Kelly was actively engaged in trying to find a buyer for the show but uncertainty was in the air.  Would he find a buyer or not?  O’Loughlin Trade Shows purchased the show late in the spring and immediately went to work  putting together the 2010 event.   The decision to retain key staff resulted in a seamless transition and an exciting show that honored the past while looking to the future…. Continue Reading

Most of the debris from the cherry tree debacle is gone–yea–a project of mammoth proportions.  Now that most of the piles are gone  we can see the space and its potential more clearly.  On tracing paper over a base map  I am scribbling away working on a new space plan.  What fun to see the outlines of the old garden integrated with ideas for a new terrace and pathways that are wide enough to accomodate full size humans–not just visiting children and canine friends.  By next week I’ll have plans for the redo on the blog for you to see.   … Continue Reading