This new pink muhly grass, Muhlenbergia capillaris ‘Plumetastic’ was supposed to be quite showy, with fantastic billowing pink clouds of flowers in autumn. That’s what it shows in the photos, anyway. This would be the photos the nurseries use to promote the things, not my photos. Obviously, there’s quite a discrepancy with the foliage descriptionContinue reading “Plume- not so -tastic”
Category Archives: Planting design
A garden refresh near Lake Tahoe
Here are the steps needed if you want to undertake a garden refresh but need to complete it quickly. Briefly, there are three initial steps: gather data, create a planting plan, pick up and install the plants. This is provided that the preliminaries are in place: a working irrigation system (or person) that will provideContinue reading “A garden refresh near Lake Tahoe”
Superblooom
This year’s wildflower show began in March, and will likely continue through August, moving from the deserts to the valleys to the mountains. When we get our drawings to clients and have a few free days, well… sometimes we just gotta hit the road. Wildflower Road Trip These shots were done in a Southern CaliforniaContinue reading “Superblooom”
Design lessons from wildflowers
Wildflowers give great design lessons: color, planting design, ecology, light… Color Colors change throughout the day, shifting from warmer to cooler. They mix: sometimes complimentary (yellow-blue, violet-orange), sometimes analogous (shades of blue, pink or yellow). Planting design These plants often grow intermingled, where they support, shade or even nourish each other. Sometimes there are broadContinue reading “Design lessons from wildflowers”
Daffodils: Lots of color. Zero irrigation.
Daffodils rest dormant during the dry parts of the year, emerging during the rainy season to flower. They’ll store energy, expand and go dormant until the next year, all with no supplemental water (as long as we have sufficient rainfall). It might seem strange to pair succulents with lush daffodils, but all these plants areContinue reading “Daffodils: Lots of color. Zero irrigation.”
Two mid-century modern front yards
Mid-century modern front yard landscapes look good all year using foliage color and texture to keep the design lively.
The plants are in!
Our project in Davis is coming along nicely as plants and irrigation fill in the design. Without the plants (and some other elements) it was much more stark – click here to see our last set of images. Next come the rest of the irrigation, then bark and lighting. Then it’s time to relax andContinue reading “The plants are in!”
A new evening structure for warm summer nights
Most people think of shade structures, but what if you don’t use your patio at noon, especially in a place with hot summers? Maybe you like to see the evening sky, too. The solution? An evening structure, designed to screen late afternoon light but let the glory of the night sky shine through. When weContinue reading “A new evening structure for warm summer nights”
Using orchid cactus and succulents to cover a wall
Typically designers use use trailing ground covers to cascade down walls, the most common plant probably being rosemary. But what about something more interesting, something that does not require as much pruning back? Something that will make people stop in their tracks and say, “wow!” Something like, say, orchid cactus (Epiphyllum)? Epiphyllum, true to theirContinue reading “Using orchid cactus and succulents to cover a wall”
Water conserving color
The manzanita that was supposed to grow, twist and soar over the deck is long gone. After a long period of mourning, we removed its corpse and installed water conserving color plants. Hummingbirds love two of them, flying close as we dine on the deck.