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Outdoor sitting area with a canopy

Small Space

I’ve been asked many times, “do you deal with small spaces?” Clients are worried that their job may be too small for me and not worth my time. But the fact is I LOVE SMALL SPACES! So much can be done to optimize a small space without breaking the bank. In the photos you can…

Different plants in a garden

It’s Raining!

March has definitely come in like a Lion! It was iffy for a while when we went a few weeks without rain and the temperatures were up to 70 degrees F! What this means is that we will have a beautiful blooming Spring! In my area of Northern California, historically (the last few years anyway),…

Soil food web illustrated diagram

Compost tea

soil Soil is the key to the life in your garden or landscape. As a landscape designer, I don’t have to time to do soil tests on my individual client’s soil… and normally my client’s don’t either. When it comes time for the new plants to be planted, the contractor brings in a soil/compost planting…

House before and after landscaping services

Another Before & After

Imagine your landscape looks like the first photo. Let’s say you drive home every day to this patch of grass a tree and a couple of shrubs. Every weekend you haul out the lawnmower (or have your mow and blow guy come by). It’s not very inspiring, but you do it to keep things maintained.…

Garden with tall decorative boulders

Before & After

Let’s study the before picture…the yard is narrow and deep. The door that you can see in the photo is a second unit. When I was asked to do a drought tolerant landscape design for this house (and granny unit), my client wanted something with color but was easy to maintain. She wanted to create…

Garden with a stone walkway and decorative boulder

What to do in fall/winter

Showing these pictures is like showing you a picture of myself when I first get out of bed…not pretty! This is what my garden looks like at the moment: it’s fall and we’re heading into winter. So what’s to do in the garden? There are two main pushes in the garden for me: Fall and…

Front yard garden with different plants

My Favorite Drought Tolerant Plants…

Many years ago I created a list of the plants that I use most often in my landscape designs. When I design a landscape, I need to make sure that the plants I choose will thrive in our climate and region. Some of the plants on this list would not be considered ‘drought tolerant’, and…

Dead tree in front of a house

Before & After

I love transforming a yard…look at the before photos. Imagine coming home each day and walking the narrow concrete path and stepping up the dull concrete steps. And then look at the after photos…the concrete walk is gone and a flagstone path that is gently curving now takes you to the door. The steps are…

Stone walkway surrounded by plants and gravel

Fall is on it’s way!

After a long hot summer, we’re finally heading into fall. What does this mean for the garden? For starters, we have a couple of months of mild weather and your landscape will come alive again with perennial blooms. But it’s the last show of color before the plants tuck in for the winter. This is…

Magazine article about landscaping

Vines in the Garden

Hey look! …Thumbing through the new September Sunset Western Garden magazine I read an article (page 54) addressing reader’s questions regarding vines that can be planted near the house, and lo and behold, a picture of my very own rose arching over my front door was pictured! I have a few thoughts on vines: First…

Thought of the Day

Drought Tolerant Favorites Silver Color Artemesia ‘Powis Castle’ Convolvulous – Bush Morning Glory Cerastium – Snow in Summer Sontolina – chamaecyparis Lavender – all types Stachys – Lamb’s Ear Grevillea ‘Penola’