All gardeners should be aware that herbicides residues can persist and end up in the compost that they make or buy. Avoid disastrous plant results by checking out where your compost ingredients come from.
Filoli Knot Gardens
On my recent trip to California with the Garden Blogger's Fling, we visited Filoli, an estate garden that wowed us with all of its formal gardens and big expanses. Composed of 16 acres of formal gardens in a 654 acre estate, Filoli is a California State Historic Landmark Site. I loved wandering the gardens that …
Labyrinth Plantings
Last year, I posted about installing a stone labyrinth for a client. We started in the fall, worked through the winter, and just finished up the spring plantings. Go to Healing Labyrinth-Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, to see how I created and implemented the design and installation. The theme for the plantings was pollinator friendly shrubs and perennials …
Container Lust
I love putting containers together and saw some especially beautiful ones this spring that stopped me in my tracks. I did not create them, but I wished I had! I took pictures and thought maybe one day I would duplicate them. I am constantly amazed at what others put together so creatively. Like a canvas …
Plants at Your Fingertips!
Planted Furniture for the Patio I went to a cocktail party at a plant lovers house, saw his planted table and was enthralled! I was sure that I could create one just as good, if not better. I looked around for a table that I could buy and convert to a planted table, but it …
Outdoor Fairy Garden- Go Wild!
At a recent Decorator Show House, I had the task of designing a space in a courtyard area that was a perfect location for a fairy garden. Fairy or miniature gardens have become an immensely popular gardening trend and I thought this would really draw attention to my area. The centerpiece was going to be my …
The Realm of Fairy- Creating Fairy Gardens
The Philadelphia Flower Show Gardener's Studio I am going to present at the Philadelphia Flower Show Gardener's Studio on March 4th and am very excited about the topic. Since the theme for the flower show is Brilliant!, which is celebrating Great Britain, I thought that designing fairy gardens would fit right in, kind of like …
Continue reading "The Realm of Fairy- Creating Fairy Gardens"
Fabulous Fall Performers- The Best of the Best
Color in the Fall Golden Rod A succession of color and flowers is easy to produce in the spring and early summer, but once September hits, the show of blooms peeters out and it gets harder and harder for the garden to be colorful. That is why I am sure to plant some stellar standouts, that …
Continue reading "Fabulous Fall Performers- The Best of the Best"
Suburban Homesteading – Raising and Preserving Sustainable Food
Sustainable is the new catch word for gardening. I hear it everywhere and I think it is overused without anyone really understanding exactly what it means. By definition it means -  Conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources. And by working gardens, keeping chickens for meat and eggs, preserving food, adding solar panels, …
Continue reading "Suburban Homesteading – Raising and Preserving Sustainable Food"
50 Shades of Black
Black is Beautiful For my updated post on black flowers, check out Black Goes With Everything. There has been an explosion of black flowers and foliage in the past couple of years in the gardening world. It started out as a trickle and now is a tsunami of everything black! When I go to the nursery …