Landscape Design

Wildlife Garden Design Tip: Use Less Lawn!

September 7, 2012 12 comments
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When talking with another designer recently, she said something that stuck in my head: “Lawn? We call that “green concrete”. Sure, sometimes you need a bit of it here or there, but it brings so little to the table that we try to avoid it!” And it’s true! I love sunning myself and playing with [...]

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Wildlife Garden Design Tip: Focus on Shape

August 5, 2012 10 comments
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Think native plants and wildlife-attracting gardens look messy? It doesn’t have to be that way. In this series, we’ll talk about the techniques involved in designing a beautiful wildlife garden. At left, landscape design by: Shades of Green Landscape Architecture, Sausalito, CA. Recently, Rachel Matthews wrote a guest post here about what she sees as [...]

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Wildlife Garden Design Tip: Choose a Simple Color Palette

July 18, 2012 11 comments
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Think native plants and wildlife-attracting gardens look messy? It doesn’t have to be that way. In this series, we’ll talk about the techniques involved in designing a beautiful wildlife garden. Today’s tip goes well with my last piece of advice, which was to plant native and wildlife-attracting plants in masses: The tip? Choose a simple [...]

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Backyard Landscaping Not Looking as Good as You’d Like? Here’s Why

June 15, 2012 42 comments
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Gen here – today’s article is a guest post from my friend Rachel Mathews of Successful Garden Design. Rachel’s an established landscape designer in the UK, and I’ve been been enjoying her landscape design eBooks and courses for some time. Today she’ll share one of the biggest secrets to success in designing a landscape:

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Luxurious Stone Fountain Table for Wine Country Gardens

April 10, 2012 8 comments
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There was so much inspiration from the 2012 San Francisco Garden Show that I am still sifting through it all weeks later. One of my favorite pieces in the entire show was this stunning table and fountain made of a solid piece of stone from McKenna Landscape. It has a recirculating pump which allows a [...]

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Rockin’ It: Innovative Use of Stone at the San Francisco Garden Show (2012 Edition)

April 3, 2012 11 comments
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As I pointed out last year, garden shows are a place for designers to do all the crazy shiznit that’s over-the-top stunning, but also completely impractical, hard to maintain or otherwise unsuitable for life in the real world. But the wonderful thing about the hardscape and stonework at garden shows is that it’s full of [...]

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Contemplative Spaces: Key Elements To Include

March 27, 2012 26 comments
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When creating a space for calm contemplation, what you leave out is much more important than what you put in. It’s as true in the garden as it is elsewhere; clutter isn’t soothing. Whether you’re creating a small nook for restful solace or overhauling an entire garden, these essential elements will keep you on track [...]

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Faux Bois: False Wood

February 1, 2012 18 comments
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I admit it: I love Martha Stewart. She drives me crazy, but her involved-yet-ever-so-elegant craft projects? Her table centerpieces? And her recipes which cause me to swoon (when reading) and curse (when preparing – I mean, who wants to spend six hours on a cupcake recipe?). She’s the queen of aspirational living. So when Martha [...]

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Don’t Do This: Horrible Landscaping Blunders

January 24, 2012 24 comments
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This post might get a little ugly. Scratch that. It’s definitely getting ugly. Today, I’ve got a quick round up of some of the worst offenders I’ve seen in professionally installed landscapes. Roving bamboo, landscape fabric stifling tree trunks, unhappy plants suffering a variety of maladies. . . and all of it easily preventable. Want [...]

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Drumroll Please: 2011′s Garden Trend Award Goes To. . .

January 9, 2012 8 comments
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Succulents! Forget the “Year of the Protestor“, 2011 was the Year of the Succulent. From green roofs to succulent spheres, these low-maintenance, year-round plants have been everywhere. With Debra Lee Baldwin’s classy instruction in her books, we’ve been using succulents in rose gardens, container plantings, and some creative people have even used them as Christmas [...]

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