Spring

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 [...]

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 [...]

Companion Plants for February Interest

It’s often difficult to find steady performers when it comes to winter interest in pots and containers.  Sarcococca ruscifolia (Sweet Box) can be a strong foundation for winter annuals such as Primroses and Pansies.  It provides that hard to find vertical accent that really makes a container noticeable.  Later in the spring or summer you [...]

Landscape Tips for Early Spring

It snowed last night and, despite the sunshine this morning, it feels pretty nippy outside. My Lenten Roses, Helleborus orientalis, are in full bloom in delicious shades of rose pink, snow white, and dark magenta. In warmer, sunnier weather, their blossoms will face the sun. But now they are looking down, burdened by clumps of [...]