The Native Gardener’s Paintbox: Green
Gardeners can benefit from a technique used by florists, who add greenery to complement both exotic and pedestrian blossoms. An assortment of bold- to…
Plants: Trees and Shrubs
Green—in Beverly Hills?
My grandmother’s adage “Use it up, wear it out, make it do” might not seem like a mantra that most of Beverly Hills would adopt. But award the c…
Lessons from the NPA Borders: Spring Tasks
Early spring is a good time for a stroll around the Northwest Perennial Alliance Borders at the Bellevue Botanical Garden. A visit will not only offer…
Santa Clara University’s Wall of Climbing Roses
Today, some 250 kinds of climbing roses cover a half-mile-long wrought iron fence along the eastern border of Santa Clara University, effectively prov…
Roots Demystified: Change Your Gardening Habits to Help Plants Thrive
We all know that there are roots beneath a plant, and we have a vague mental image of how they must look. We also know…
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens: A Tribute to Rhododendron Lovers
The Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden collection includes nearly one hundred species of Rhododendron, including representatives from most of the subgen…
The Self-Sustaining Garden: The Guide to Matrix Planting
One of the most important garden books I’ve ever read was Peter Thompson’s The Looking Glass Garden: Plants and Gardens of the Southern Hemisphere (Timber…
A Half-Century of Camellias Find a New Home
To move a collection of this age and size, we needed to find a location for the camellias in a relatively similar microclimate, to minimize any post-t…
It’s My Garden, and I’ll Try If I Want To!
We are all beginners, because our curiosity pushes us from one stage of gardening into new and unfamiliar territory, and, suddenly, we start learning …