Real Life Garden Solutions

05/26/2022

This was actually going to be about "so much blue"... Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' But then I realized that most of what I thought was blue actually looked more purple, and even some flowers that were bluer than purple in real life, looked purpler than blue in images. Anemone nemerosa So this is just a tour of the spring garden. There are a few other colours in bloom, but not many....

This was actually going to be about “so much blue”… Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ But then I realized that most of what I thought was blue actually looked more pur…

09/30/2021

Another article from the home-and-garden website Houzz: 8 Ways a Garden Can draw You In. I'll write a post of my own on this subject in the future, and I've alluded to it in various past posts. (I'm always looking for ways to encourage residents/families to get out into the garden, not just look at it from the window. (Altho' there's nothing…...

Another article from the home-and-garden website Houzz: 8 Ways a Garden Can draw You In. I’ll write a post of my own on this subject in the future, and I’ve alluded to it in various pas…

09/29/2021

This was going to be a regular feature-- I didn't mean it to be an biennial feature! Washing birch trees??? How much time do you spend outside? "The science has shown that, although we think we like nature, we undervalue how much it helps us—how good it makes us feel." Soil is a living breathing ecosystem Great container gardens And another post on choosing containers Seating areas made simple (Another great article from eGardenGo creator Darcy Daniels, written for Fine Gardening.)

This was going to be a regular feature– I didn’t mean it to be an biennial feature! Washing birch trees??? How much time do you spend outside? “The science has shown that, althoug…

06/30/2021

I can't pretend these are "good" floral designs, just opportunities to get the most out of the garden--seeing it outside but also bringing it inside. Westerland Rose, Europeana rose, Boxwood stems, Leycesteria formosa--which I won't bother with again, it only lasts one day. Octavia Hill rose, Karl Rosenfeld Peony, Turk's cap lily, Euphorbia characias, bracken fern. I love this one: Octavia Hill Rose, Westerland Rose, Cinco de Mayo Rose, Julia Child Rose....

I can’t pretend these are “good” floral designs, just opportunities to get the most out of the garden–seeing it outside but also bringing it inside. Westerland Rose, Europea…

06/29/2021

Haven't posted any bouquet pics since late last summer, but since some of my roses have been doing well, likewise peonies and filler flowers and greenery, it's time for a reveal: Festiva Maxima peony, Westerland Rose, Victoria California Lilac, Alba Camassia, Julia Child Rose, an amazing plum coloured iris the name of which I dis-remember, a white snapdragon, some heuchera flower spikes....

Haven’t posted any bouquet pics since late last summer, but since some of my roses have been doing well, likewise peonies and filler flowers and greenery, it’s time for a reveal: Festiv…

08/24/2020

I follow a lot of garden and landscape design writers/websites, but few are as practical as eGardenGo, a Portland Oregon based site with a main purpose of demonstrating great plant combinations. Any site that has a Pacific Northwest focus gets extra points from me; it means I can assume a lot of applicability right off the bat. So, "plant combinations": that's what I've been meaning to write about since spring, and finally getting around to it now. [ 218 more words ]

I follow a lot of garden and landscape design writers/websites, but few are as practical as eGardenGo, a Portland Oregon based site with a main purpose of demonstrating great plant combinations. An…

02/09/2020

In the past I've just nipped off Hellebore blossoms and floated them in a bowl. Pretty, but today I went foraging in my garden. (Can I call it "foraging" if I'm not collecting food?)

  In the past I’ve just nipped off Hellebore blossoms and floated them in a bowl. Pretty, but today I went foraging in my garden. (Can I call it “foraging” if I’m not c…

10/30/2019

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04/26/2019

One of the “advantages” of being in the same office suite as me is hearing (a) that arborist wood chips are about as close to a miracle product as you can get and (b) that landscape fab…

02/07/2019

Wow, what a treasure!

It’s not at all unusual for gardeners to grow old and discover they are unable to take care of their garden as well as they would like. It’s a sad but common eventuality. And what often happens is that such gardens – even very beautiful ones that have taken years and years to build – …