The heat of the summer has me looking forward to the cooler days of fall planting.  With a lead time of about two months, I’m going to try growing glow in the dark mushrooms this year.  A few magical logs on the front porch, giving off an eerie night light will next level the Halloween […]

How to fix size, light and balance problems in your garden with a mirror. Mirrors are an easy way to solve some of the most common garden design issues.

  by Eddie DeJong – Founder of Vita Gardens and creator of all those Keyhole garden beds you see at Costco. Keyhole gardens: One of those buzz words – keyhole garden – that seem to be taking over the gardening world. A circular raised bed with a central composting bin, and a path to the […]

For years, I used the planting bed near my front door as a holding area for new things that didn’t yet have a permanent home.  It was a mish–mash mess that was exhausting to look at. I needed a cohesive design that highlights the house (especially now that it is freshly painted!). The before is […]

Writing a book requires reaching out to many people you might not otherwise have cause to contact. Interviews and image research require countless cold calls. This part of the project required me to mentally psych myself up for. And at the end, it is what truly exhausted me (I guess the result of being a […]

I’m always up for being sent off on a research tangent.  Not knowing where it will end up, what I will learn and what will inspire me to something else, is endlessly satisfying.  So when my friend Patrick recently inquired about garden moss on another post… “Have garden designers incorporated moss species into their creations, […]

After ten years of staring down a large pile of hardwood logs left for me after the installation of a new home septic system, I’ve resolved to make something of this eyesore. A forest garden and an attempt at growing mushrooms outdoors. I’m a classically trained garden designer. (That is to say, I studied in […]

Do you ever have that feeling like the universe is trying to send you a message and you notice it, but then you are like ‘nah -universes don’t send messages to people, that’s dumb’? I think the universe is trying to tell me to plant lots of foxgloves.  Is that dumb? Years ago, I posted […]

Have you ever tried to trim a spiral topiary?  If you are following existing lines, it usually isn’t too tricky but if you are aiming to turn a cone into a spiral, it can quickly go off the rails. Topiary trimming is complex and an over zealous Edward Scissorhands inspired gardener can easily trim too […]