Foundation Plantings

When landscaping, a very important part of the plan includes your foundation plantings. Without these, not only does the house seem "unanchored", but foundations are generally downright ugly.

An important thing to remember when choosing plants for your foundation planting is that you don't want to have it seem overgrown, dark and heavy. Not only do you want some evergreen shrubs, but you want flowering shrubs and perennials and even some annuals as well.

Foundation planting, when done correctly can add immensely to the visual appeal of your home.

Happy planting!

Almost Spring!

One of the best things about this time of year, at least in the Pacific Northwest, is that we get teased about Spring. It's almost a month away and I've noticed that some cherry trees are starting to show their blossoms.

And finally this week...the daffs have started to bloom in my yard. Even the Daphane has swollen pink buds, the azalea is looking like it's about to burst and I even see little buds down inside the tulip leaves that have broken ground.

I could even hear the birds the other day!

It's still chilly - today I'd say we were lucky if we broke 40 - not counting the wind.

What's coming up in your yard?

Garden Rooms ~ The Barrio Garden

Garden rooms have been around for a long time and are a particular favorite of mine. Even as a child, I loved to find my own secrete place in the garden...then it was under the huge hydrangaes in a San Francisco back yard.

Here is an article on a garden room in in Tucson.....
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Enclosed by an adobe wall and an Indian fig cactus fence, the Barrio Garden is an intimate space.
The small garden — within the Tucson Botanical Gardens — is designed to honor the gardening traditions and eclectic spirit of Tucson's Hispanic gardeners. It has been a success by any measure.
Filled with herbs, citrus, loquats and pomegranates, and navigated via a winding path, the garden has a homemade, welcoming look. Since its construction in the 1990s, the Barrio Garden has been a personal favorite. Today it seems even more vibrant than normal. I look for a gardener to question.

Continue....

Frost!

While those of you on the East Coast, who are still digging out from under all the snow, may think...what's a little frost...it's a different story out here on the West Coast.

I've been marveling at the blooms on the Azaleas, smiling at the little lavender crocus that are popping up everywhere, and waiting with anticipation as the first daffodils bloom (they look ready to pop).

And now...here comes an "Artic Freeze". We are expecting temps into the teens! I knew it was bad when I heard the Daphne knock on the front door this morning and asked for her down jacket.

Sigh...just when you think you are past the danger of frost....

The garden has gone to pot -- let's celebrate - OrlandoSentinel.com: Home & Garden

If you are in Florida, here are some specific Q&A about container gardening - discover...

• types of pots to use
• most common mistakes
• pot size
  

The garden has gone to pot -- let's celebrate - OrlandoSentinel.com: Home & Garden


You'll find even more information on container gardening at:
http://www.gardensandthings.com/Container_Gardening_Articles.html

More off-the- wall ideas

I'm all for "found" art in the garden, recycling, and being artsy-fartsy. Some of these ideas however are a bit too much for me. What do you think?

More off-the- wall ideas | www.azstarnet.com ®

Composters

I don't know about you, but I love composters! There is nothing better than sweet compost when it is ready to apply to the garden.

What I have never liked is all the turning needed to keep it cooking.

I've tried many systems before - sticks, can, empty soda bottles to get air and water deep within, and plain, back-breaking turning. Once I even tried putting my compost into trash cans and rolling them around.

Whether they're rooftop dwellers or nestled under a bedroom balcony, your Roma tomatoes and burrito-bound jalapenos will thrive with healthy compost. (less scraps for the landfill, too.) This particular urban-savvy Spinning Composter is made of 50% post-consumer recycled plastic and it produces up to 85 pounds of odorless, fertile compost in about a month. Removable base collects water drippings — a nutritious byproduct. Eight built-in rollers spin to mix in oxygen and speed decomposition. Secure latching door is hinged for filling, detaches for emptying.

Now this sounds more like it! (Click on the image for more information).

Container gardens....

Living on a hill side with the forest for a backyard, we've taken to having lots of containers on our deck. There are lots of advantages to container gardening....

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Container gardens can create a natural sanctuary in a busy city street, along rooftops or on balconies. You can easily accentuate the welcoming look of a deck or patio with colorful pots of annuals, or fill your window boxes with beautiful shrub roses or any number of small perennials. Whether you arrange your pots in a group for a massed effect or highlight a smaller space with a single specimen, you'll be delighted with this simple way to create a garden.

Read more..."Tips for Container Gardening"

Early Spring bulbs are appearing

Being in the PNW, we have more than our share of rain and cloudy days. And this time of year, especially with the Garden shows occuring (ie, in Seattle and Portland), it's so easy to get carried away with plans.

One thing that brings me back to earth (literally), is on the rare sunny days when I can be out and digging in the dirt...such as just a few days ago (while moving those massive Western Sword Ferns that were planted against the house by the prveious owners. I don't imagine they knew how big those ferns get when they were planted!).

While it's still early, I love this time of hear. The bulbs are emerging and indeed I have a few crocus (corci?) in actual bloom. The daffs are budding as, out is the daphane and the many rhodies. Oh yes, even one of the azaleas is showing tight pink buds.

What's showing up in your garden?

Urban Gardens Provide More than Just Food

Gardens around the world:

ARGENTINA:
Urban Gardens Provide More than Just Food
Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 9 (IPS) - The community gardens initially created to help confront the effects of the late 2001 economic collapse in Argentina have now "grown" into a government-run urban agriculture programme, which provides unemployed workers with much more than just food for their families' tables.

Some 7,000 people who were out of work before entering the programme have joined forces to clear the land, plant and harvest vegetables, and sell their produce in street market stalls.

Many of them are also now involved in agricultural development projects aimed at supplying the market with organic produce, grown without chemical fertilisers or pesticides.

They are participants in the Urban Agriculture Programme set up by the city government of Rosario, located on the banks of the Paraná River in the eastern Argentine province of Santa Fe.
The programme encompasses over 600 community gardens created on formerly vacant lots, on both public and privately owned land, as well as a distribution and sales network and projects designed to develop related industries.

Read more....

The World's Most Beautiful Springtime Garden...

LISSE, The Netherlands, Feb. 9, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Winter may still have the country firmly in its icy grip, but Keukenhof is busy preparing for spring. In 2006, the world's most beautiful springtime park will be open from March 23 until May 9.

Some seven million bulbs will be blooming in the 80-acre park, in addition a series of breathtaking indoor exhibitions will be organized. Year after year, Keukenhof inspires nature lovers and gardening enthusiasts who flock to see the latest in garden trends, with demonstrations, the park's Japanese and English landscape gardens, century-old trees, ponds and works of art. Children can follow the exciting 'Bollebozen Route' (an educational adventure trail that teaches them about flower bulbs), explore a maze, visit the petting zoo, and enjoy the playground. Once again, the Keukenhof's program of events is chock-full of activities for the coming season.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/prn/texas/3647508.html

Northwest Flower and Garden Show

In my opinion, it is simply the best garden show on the west coast.

It starts today.

Read more about it....Seattle Garden Show