Author Archive
Preparing for the Landscape Design Process
So you’ve finally decided that the right professional to help you is a landscape designer, not a landscape architect. There are a few things that you can do to make the landscape design process both fun and fruitful. Here is our handy checklist for getting ready for the landscape design process!
Landscape Designer or Landscape Architect?
Many people don’t know that there is a difference between a landscape architect and a landscape designer. The quick response is that landscape architecture is a licensed profession that is regulated by a central registration body at the national level and administered at the state level. A landscape architecture degree is typically 5 years, followed [...]
Water Features in Small Spaces
It’s no secret that a water feature can add dimension to any garden, no matter what the size. They can be both stimulating and relaxing at the same time. They also function as a visual and aural focus, hopefully taking your eye and ear away from the busy street right over the fence! A water [...]
Winter Landscaping
It’s hard to believe that a couple of weeks ago we were buried under a foot of snow. The weather has been relatively warm and blissfully sunny. The scent of Sarcococca fills the air and daffodils are starting to peep up. It’s time to garden, right? There are definitely quite a few things that [...]
Plants that I can’t live without…..
As a landscape designer I love to look at and test new plants. Like fashion they change every season. Something that has been popular for years may suddenly disappear from the market because it’s lost favor. (Think of how many New Zealand flax everybody planted about 8 years ago.) Though I like experimenting in my [...]
Choosing A Landscape Contractor
Choosing any sort of contractor can be a difficult experience, wrought with worry and frustration. Choosing a landscape contractor can be especially frustrating because the industry is filled with so many different types of companies. Here are a few tips for selecting the company that is right for you. 1. Look for a company that [...]
Talk to the Shovel Part 2
Is there a point in a gardeners development when you suddenly become immune to delicious cultivar names? The growers throw out these wonderful names that tempt you to purchase a plant you KNOW is wrong. Campanula ‘Pink Octopus’ or Heuchera ‘Tiramisu’ or Dianthus ‘Fancy Knickers’. Who can resist? One of my all time favorite ridiculous [...]
Plant of the Month for March
Helleborus x hybridus- Commonly referred to as Lenten Rose, Christmas Rose, Lenten Hellebore or Stinking Hellebore. These plants have become a staple in many types of gardens, but are particularly pleasing in a woodland scene. They prefer partial or full shade (although in my experience they will tolerate sunny conditions with ample water). Hellebores are [...]
Talk to the Shovel Part 1
I have been an gardener in the greater Seattle area for 25 years. (Yes, I started young). When I was 10 my grandmother purchased a Queen Elizabeth rose for me. We planted it together, but I was on my own for the pruning. At that point a particular cycle began and it wasn’t until many [...]
Great Plant Picks
The pacific northwest list of Great Plant Picks was released by the Elizabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden last week. It’s a wonderful blend of old favorites and new teasers. Here are a couple of notes on some of the plants: I love to use Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Album’ as a foamy, fluffy filler under larger perennials [...]