TEMPTATION + DISCIPLINE It’s plant sale season…the time when carts overflow and restraint feels impossible. I’ve been making the rounds, too, scooping up clearance plants for just a few dollars each. But here’s the difference this year: I finally feel like I know what I need. It’s taken years t...

A WORK IN PROGRESS Like many of you, our garden is a work in progress. Our first step back in 2020 was establishing our garden rooms (dining area, fire pit space, paths), plus defining our planting areas. We’ve also been slowly adding fences, arbors, furniture and planters. I didn’t do a full-bl...

I’ve always been drawn to cooler colors like green, blue, and purple. They feel calm and natural to me. Orange, on the other hand, felt like a stranger in my palette…too loud, too warm, too much. I admired it in other people’s gardens, but in mine, it felt out of place. Then we moved into our cu...

White gardens have a special kind of charm. They feel calm, fresh, and a little bit magical...like a quiet pause in the middle of a busy day. If you’re looking for a simple way to bring some peace and light into your garden, white might be just the thing. THE FIRST WHITE GARDENMany credit Vita S...

Few colors have as much presence in the garden as red. It’s the color of passion, love, and adventure...a hue that radiates energy. Even a single red bloom has the power to pull your eye from across the yard, making it a natural choice for drawing people in and leading them through a space. Red ...

When you think of gardens, you probably picture soft pastels, bright greens, and sunny colors. But what if you flipped the script and embraced something darker? Deep purples, shadowy greens, and yes, even black, can bring a striking, dramatic edge to your outdoor space. And black doesn’t just hav...

Pink is often described as the meeting point of red’s passion and white’s purity...a combination that results in a color symbolizing love, nurture, and compassion (as the color experts at Hunter Lab put it). It’s a beautiful reminder that color in a garden can do more than decorate; it can set a ...

When we plan a garden, we often think first about flower colors...pink, red, orange, white, blue, purple. But what about green overall? It’s easy to overlook because it’s everywhere, yet green is the quiet foundation of every garden. And it’s not just in plants. Fences, furniture, sculptures, eve...

Every garden needs a moment. A place where your eyes stop, your shoulders drop, and you feel that spark of yes...this is it. That moment of recognition doesn’t happen by accident…it’s created through the design principle of EMPHASIS. Emphasis gives your garden a focal point: a feature that stan...

About 15 years ago I accepted an amazing position at a local botanic garden. Being in a beautiful place, surrounded by talented staff and volunteers inspired the creation of my theme garden development process. We applied it to the botanic garden displays many times, then I eventually realized it...