Saturday, May 15, 2010

Mother's Day Garden Tour


On Mother’s Day, May 9th I had my annual tour of the garden. For the last three years I have opened my garden and invited clients and friends to wander through. The hours of the opening were from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and at about 1:45 p.m. the heavens opened up and the rain came down in sheets! What to do? I poured myself a glass of wine (it was Mother’s Day after all) and sat down to watch the rain. As it wound itself down the first guests arrived through the gate. They were from the Perennial Garden Club and they explained that neither rain nor any other bad weather could keep them from touring a garden! They came equipped with umbrellas. As the day wore one, the clouds dispersed and the sun shone bright and beautiful and I lost count of how many people came through.


The garden looked lovely - it had a wonderful watering! A question that I was asked numerous times throughout the day was “how many hours a day/week do you spend maintaining this garden?” I was surprised because I spend very little on maintenance. The garden and the landscape takes care of itself. I have designed plants that grow to certain heights and planted them accordingly. 90% of the plants in the landscape are evergreen. The perennial color comes and goes, and the most amount of effort I spend in the garden is clipping the roses and flowers to bring into the house.


My backyard landscape is nearly four years old and most of the new plants have grown in. I never stuff more plants than can fit into any space so after seasons have come and gone everything has filled in and balances itself with the rest of the shrubs and trees. Many times I have been called upon to redo landscapes that are completely overgrown even though they are not that old. The problem is that often people want the “instant garden” look and they plant too many shrubs that grow too big, and then later on it becomes just another problem! Balance is the key, and balance is about knowing how big a shrub or tree will get - and patience.


I would also like to mention that a client of mine, Sue Anne Sheya plays the flute, teaches flute and offers performances. If you are having a party or function, consider having Sue Anne play! Her phone number is: (530) 746-8783. If I had known about Sue Anne’s flute playing, I would have hired her to play for the garden tour...how lovely to wander through the garden accompanied by sweet flute music!




When all the company left the yard on Sunday, guess who popped out of their home in my wood pile? My four little nursery companions: Sprout, Juniper, Parsley and Violet! Those are the names I’ve given them, but they need to find loving homes, so if you are ready for love and fun, consider one of these little friends. They should be ready for adoption in another two weeks.







Color and Texture: Color Year Round


Color and texture in the planting scheme is what really makes a garden stand out. I love to bring in the light and dark colored shrubs, setting them close to one another so that they are mutually complimenting. The same with texture: shrubs have a wide range of colors - from lemon yellow to deep purple and many varieties are available with “variegation” - multiple colors throughout the one plant. When you want your garden to look beautiful, colorful and alive throughout the seasons, then the bulk of the color should come from the shrubs - the perennial flowers can be added, popping out when they are in bloom. If you fill your garden with flower color, during the fall and winter when they’ve gone dormant, your yard will look dull and dead. Again, think: balance.


For bright yellow color try Coleonema “Sunset Gold” or Chamaecyparis “Mops” or even Juniper “Old Gold.” These plants are not deciduous and in the winter when it’s foggy and gloomy they will light up the landscape! The Phormiums or “flax” come in a variety of colors and unlike ornamental grasses, they do not go dormant and turn straw-colored. Loropetalum or “Chinese Fringe Flower” is ever-plum color. Try putting that next to silver Artemesia “Powis Castle,” Santolina or Convolvulous. You’ll find that when you use shrubbery to bring in the bulk of color into your landscape the maintenance is very low. The flower colors will come and go, and when they bloom they will be a delight but when they’re done the landscape will still look complete.




Flora Grubb


The day after the garden tour my daughter and I headed for the City - San Francisco - to finally get to a nursery that I’ve been wanting to go to: Flora Grubb Gardens. What a treat! Flora Grubb has been featured in Sunset Magazine and also Garden Design Magazine. Flora Grubb sells fabric pockets that hang vertically which enable you to create a “vertical garden.” They also have a vast array of succulents and huge vertical plantings that are literally living art.


As you walk through the nursery you’ll come across some really crazy whimsical items, such as an old car that has every open orifice stuffed with plants...even the hood is ripped open for palms to grow out of the top! A bicycle is rimmed with air plants. It’s so creative and inspiring...I highly recommend a trip there. It will get your creative juices going!



Flora Grubb:

1634 Jerrold Ave. S.F.

www.Floragrubb.com