…in which I tease Amy Stewart about her garden, and get to say "hell" on Kirkus Reviews. I am sure I can die happy now. Read it here: Garden Rant: A Conversation about 'Understanding Garden Design' … [Continue reading]
A guest post by author Michael Nolan When Gen offered to let me take the helm here at North Coast Gardening for the day, I couldn’t resist. I mean really; I live in the Southeastern US, I was never professionally trained as a gardener and to top … [Continue reading]
If you've read Susan Morrison and Rebecca Sweet's book Garden Up! about vertical gardening, you've seen the drool-worthy photos of succulent walls. You might have even thought about getting one of those flat wooden frames to make one of your … [Continue reading]
We are doing the happy dance here at North Coast Gardening, because we have just passed our official last frost date here on the coast in Humboldt County. This means I'm planting all the frost-sensitive Fuchsias, lemon trees, sages, etc that I've … [Continue reading]
When I got an email from Eartheasy offering a cool wooden raised bed kit to try out, I was suspicious of their claims. Takes less than five minutes to put together? Easy to assemble? Um, not for me. I'm, like, DIY-challenged or something. I can't … [Continue reading]
Just, um, not lately. I've been on a bit of a native plant kick in recent days, given that so many of my loveliest natives have been putting on a crazy spring show lately. Anyway, if you're not sick of hearing me bang on about regional character in … [Continue reading]
Ah, gophers. So cute, with their cheeks stuffed with grass and their little burrowing ways. Yet so destructive to our vegetable beds. A client finally got tired of having her beets, lettuces, and other delicious veggies cruelly snatched away by Mr … [Continue reading]
Handheld vacuums are remarkably crucial cleaning devices; they make it easy to clean little messes without hauling out the full-sized vacuum cleaner (https://www.bestandfirst.com/product-category/car-vacuum-cleaner/). There's no need to undersell a … [Continue reading]
Humboldt County's known for its majestic redwoods, and many of the gardens that I design and care for have a few towering specimens setting the scene. But lovely though they are, gardening under redwoods presents some serious challenges. Shade For … [Continue reading]
***This is a bit of a local rant, but I do have a point that relates to designers and anyone who expresses themselves artistically in the garden.*** I'm lucky: my college town's somehow managed to stay funky, cool, small and walkable, and above … [Continue reading]
When the Garden Designers Roundtable chose Top Landscape Plants as this month's topic, I thought to myself, "Hey, no problem, I can write that in my sleep." I mean, enthusing about plants is kind of my thing, you know? But given that this is book … [Continue reading]