Stepping stones in a garden not only add a charming touch to your outdoor space but also serve a functional purpose by creating a pathway and a narrative for how to traverse a garden. Use natural stone or concrete pavers (whichever). Strategically placing stepping stones can enhance the overall aesthetic appeal of your garden while providing a convenient walking surface. image by murrayneillHow to make a baisc stepping stone path In order to create a walkway with stepping stones, you must first plan out the desired path and determine the placement of the stones. The area should be cleared of a ..read more

One of many beautifully executed plant displays at Chelsea flower show 2012. My days here at the 2012 Chelsea Flower Show are so full!  Yesterday I spent the morning in a garden identifying (as best I could) British weeds as part of a forest gardening/ permaculture design course, and then I spent the afternoon at Chelsea’s final build-up day. Today is press day at the show and I took over 400 images as I wandered amongst the hustle and bustle of the show construction. I am sorting and prepping them just as fast as I can, but here is a quick taste of what I think is in fashion (accord ..read more

Joe Swift created a Chelsea garden where wood and wood tones take center stage. The structures are beautifully finished modern arches of layered cedar wood. I would love to know how well they would weather in a real garden. The stonework is interesting as well. The garden features large boulders that have been horizontally sliced to enhance their natural texture and increase their interest.  (I might have to give this a try sometime as this is a really interesting feature if you ask me) Verbascum petra Centaurea phoenix hybrids Red Bergenia Overture is planted in the gr ..read more

Autumn has arrived and even though the summer seems to be hanging on, it is time to think about making a few decorative changes around the house (both inside and out) to welcome the crisper air, the fall harvest, and most colorful season of all. Every year, Pantone announces, with much fanfare, the color of the year for the following year. The announcement is the precursor of a trend and it is a predictor of the mood that product colors and fashion will take for the following few seasons. The 2015 color is Marsala.  Pantone describes the hue: Much like the fortified wine that gives Mars ..read more

While on vacation for the last couple weeks, I made a bit of a grand circle.  We traveled by car up to Quebec, Canada and spent a week before returning to spend a night in Boston, say goodbye to my parents and travel partners, and hop a plane for LA.  After spending one night with my husband’s parents in Palos Verdes, we headed south to San Diego for 4 days to stay in a beautiful resort with my husbands family to celebrate his parents 50th anniversary.  We wrapped up our trip back in LA for a handful of days (Disneyland, the pool, another Golden anniversary party) and finally r ..read more

Have your ever noticed how tasks done with the right tools can often go from tedious and tiresome to enjoyable and invigorating? I helped a friend put in some plants earlier this summer and all she had for the job was a weird half height shovel (actually knee height) whose handle was loose.  When I showed up with my regular old garden shovel in good repair it was like a revelation to her (and me too). Suddenly digging a hole was easy and enjoyable and her plants could go in swiftly and simply rather than being painfully back-breaking. It reminded me that even though I have a far more adv ..read more

Over the weekend I found a garden blog called Rooting for Ideas. I haven’t been able to explore too much yet, but the few posts I’ve read have been quite promising. And…I found one of my favorite makeovers to date. Probably in the top 5….I think you’ll love it too. Back in 1997, Don and his wife bought an amazing property in New York state called Old Totem Farm. Don started on his garden just after moving in and says that it now spans about 4 acres and entirely surrounds the house. He enjoys creating “garden rooms” and has quite a few at this point….a moon garden, plum orchard, lilac wal ..read more

This is what Jamie’s patio look liked before she did this: Everything about this makeover video is sparking my creative juices.   The video itself with the time-laspe coolness is reminding me to do the same (I actually figured out how to do it last year and played but never produced anything!).  The Budget — $1500 and 3 hours to put it all in place…. Then there is all the DIY projects to pull it together (see Jamie’s website for the full run down on the palette sofa, the tassel garland, the ombre died bedding and more.) And the final product — WOW!  There is ..read more

Perhaps it’s not completely fair to share this as a destination garden as I am not entirely sure you can go here anymore.  Gazebo Gardens was once a locally owned garden center but having shut down a few years ago due (in their words) to ‘being put out of business by Lowes and Home Depot’, their garden is now a private place.   Nonetheless, I have seen reports on the internet that they still occasionally welcome visitors who enjoy a good garden here and there. At least through the magic of the internet and some arm chair travel, we can all be inspired by some of this former gar ..read more

So, I have this fun opportunity that a media specialist/video producer friend has presented to me. He’s a talented guy but his day job just isn’t feeding him creatively so he has approached me about maybe doing some videos on the side. I am not sure where we are going to go with this.  At the very least, I will have some clips that I will share here, but we are thinking (since he has done this type of thing before) that if it comes out interesting, we might pitch it to PBS or something. But here is the thing….what exactly is ‘it’? We’ve had a couple beers to get discussions going, and I s ..read more