Walking around my neighborhood I see neon red fall foliage at every turn. Japanese maples covered with vivid red, bright orange or yellow leaves steal the scene wherever they grow. Surrounded by greenery Canadian redbud now pop with burgundy and yellow color. Flowering dogwood look like they're on fire. Because we live among so many … Continue reading Fall Color Trees for the Santa Cruz Mountains
To quote Luther Burbank, "Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul". After visiting the garden of Bev Kaplan in Boulder Creek I couldn't agree more. I never tire of being invited to spend time with a fellow gardening enthusiast. Everyone creates a unique garden … Continue reading A Garden Reflects it’s Designer
I can see snow-covered Mt. Rainier from my sister's deck. Last night a rainbow bridged the Puget Sound which flows around Fox Island at the southern end of the sound. The landscape here is lush and green. Dogwoods, foxgloves and rhododendrons are still in full bloom. This temperate rain forest receives more rain than ours … Continue reading Lessons from Butchart Gardens and the Pacific Northwest
It's always a breathtaking experience taking a walk at this time of year. You might see the cobalt blue flowers nearly covering a ceanothus or a stand of dicentra formosa with their pink bell-shaped flowers backlit in the spring sunlight. These are just two of our local native plants. Everywhere you look nature is beginning … Continue reading California Native Plants in Spring 2012
Every year after attending the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show I'm exhilarated by the creativity of the display gardens and the fresh use of familiar plants. Don't even get me started on the new plant introductions I want to use in my next landscape design. This year the world-class show celebrated its 25th anniversary. … Continue reading San Francisco Flower & Garden Show 2012
The rain last week was welcomed by all of us who like to watch things grow. There's a patch of grass growing beside a creek where I live that is the brightest neon green I've ever seen. Whether you call it apple green or lime green or chartreuse it shouts spring officially started on March … Continue reading March Gardening Tips