OK, I confess—I don’t know much about color design in my garden. I’m just pleased when my plants thrive. However, on visits to other gardens, I appreciate the bright (or subtle) combinations. How does that happen? Recently, I walked through Rebecca Sweet’s elegantly designed backyard in Northern California—a symphony of greens and blues, with accents […]
The grafted tomatoes are coming! Marry a disease-resistant rootstock on the bottom to a tasty scion on top, and you get the best wedding of both worlds—tomatoes with vigor and higher yields, as well as the amazing variety of taste choices from artisan-bred home-growns. This month, I talked with Alice Doyle, co-owner of Log House […]
Designing a fabulous winter garden seems entirely appropriate for Northwest Garden Nursery owners, Marietta and Ernie O’Byrne. After all, they are the developers of the Winter Jewels® Hellebore Collection. With many plants dormant, the hardy surprises in their Oregon display garden stand out. So this month, I talked with Marietta about what design elements and […]
Research your next tree with a series of simple steps Plant the wrong geranium in your garden and you can always send it to compost heaven. But plant the wrong tree and you’ll waste money and time (often years). So what’s the best way to choose a tree? Do your research, says Amy Ziffer, former […]
It’s the season for welcoming family and friends to our homes. However, we don’t greet all creatures great and small with open arms. Here are three informative books for your holiday gift list— to give or to get. If the noise you hear isn’t the charming clatter of eight tiny reindeer on your roof but […]
Weather patterns that swing between drought and deluge are becoming more common over much of the U.S. So what’s a home gardener to do? You might think about capturing some of what here in the Pacific Northwest we call “liquid sunshine.” This month we check out one Oregon homeowners’ system that combines practicality with a […]
In most parts of the country, autumn signals the end of the gardening season. Tender plants are stored in greenhousesand garages. Borders get a winter mulch. Even in warmer climates, it’s time for a break. But wait—there’s more. Here are five award-winning plants that I saw introduced in the recent New Varieties Showcase at Portland Oregon’s […]
“There’s no reason not to have a blueberry in every garden,” says Amelie Brazelton Aust, second-generation owner of Fall Creek Nursery in Oregon. She should know. Fall Creek will ship 14 million plants worldwide this year, mostly for farming production. Now for home gardeners, they’ve developed a new line called “Brazelberries.” These plants, Amelie tells me […]
The hot weather chore of watering container plants can make you feel like you’re trapped in a perpetual motion machine. What, wilted again? However, you can enjoy wonderful containers that need little extra care when the temperatures soar. Simply choose plants that will consent to grow in bog conditions. Place them pot and all in […]
My garden will be open in July, as part of The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program. Right now I’m madly tucking last-minute plants into my beds and borders. But I don’t want just any old plant. No, I’m on the hunt for the new and/or unusual. My quest is a common one among gardeners. So […]
In a parallel to the culinary world’s slow/sustainable food movement, the idea of buying nearby flowers is taking off. Just in time to explain it all, here comes the book: The 50-Mile Bouquet—Seasonal, Local and Sustainable Flowers, by garden writer Debra Prinzing and photographer David Perry. Also billed as “The Organic Flower-growing, Gathering and Design Guide,” it’s […]
If like me, you dream of some day owning a greenhouse, you’ll be interested in what Lorna Basso has to say about living with hers. Built by Hartley Botanic in 2010, Lorna’s greenhouse in her two-acre Atherton, California garden serves as both a design focal point and an elegant sanctuary. This month she shares her […]
