Previous Articles

Chicken Coop Redux

by Rebecca Sweet

As many of my readers may know, I adore chickens and have had several grace my garden over the years. Note the past tense. While I love them dearly, I’ve finally realized they’re best enjoyed in other people’s gardens.  I can’t bear to keep them cooped up (no pun intended) in a chicken run, so [...]

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Indoor Plant Decor – Book Party, Review & Giveaways

by Rebecca Sweet
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To celebrate the release of Kylee Baumle and Jenny Peterson’s new book, Indoor Plant Decor, you’re all invited to participate in their cyber book party (complete, of course, with loads of prizes!) I’ll be honest, when I was asked to review and join this event I was a little nervous as I’m one of those [...]

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My impromptu succulent cutting tower

by Rebecca Sweet
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Last month I completely dismantled one of my favorite garden beds so we could finally finish painting the house.  Last fall we had our house painted, but I wouldn’t let them paint one remaining wall as my bougainvillea was in full bloom and there was no way I was about to cut it back prematurely! [...]

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Dewit Potting Scoop Giveaway

by Rebecca Sweet
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Last year my friend (and gardener extraordinaire) Shawna Coronado traveled to the Netherlands to spend a little time with the folks at the DeWit Tool company.  Shawna had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of not only designing, but making the prototype of her ideal version of a potting soil scoop.  The scoop has since been such a success [...]

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Flowers and memories – the good and the bad

by Rebecca Sweet
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The other day I sat down with my father and we were laughing about the time when I decapitated my parents’ very first little garden.  I was only two years old, and my dad was anxiously waiting for the day when the new ‘seed mat’ they had carefully tended over the past few weeks would [...]

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New Garden App – Sunset Western Garden Book

by Rebecca Sweet
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I’m a huge fan of the latest edition of the Sunset Western Garden Book (read my review here), and to say I’m over the moon with excitement at the big news of their new garden app is an understatement. A few weeks ago I was honored to be invited to Sunset’s Headquarters where I was [...]

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Color in the Garden – without the plants

by Rebecca Sweet
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You can always tell when people are sick and tired of winter when flashy accessories start popping up throughout the garden! This past week, while visiting Sunset Magazine’s test gardens and those of the San Francisco Garden Show, I was struck by the amount of vibrant colors everywhere. And also, interestingly enough, how the color [...]

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Grand Boca Grande

by Rebecca Sweet
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I just returned from a quick trip to Boca Grande, a tiny little island off of Florida, where I spoke about vertical gardening to the island’s local garden club.  Without a doubt, one of the perks of my job is the chance to see new things and meet new people – something I wouldn’t trade [...]

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Lawn Gone! Book Party, Review and Giveaways

by Rebecca Sweet
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To celebrate the release of Pam Penick’s new book, Lawn Gone! Low-Maintenance, Sustainable, Attractive Alternatives for Your Yard, you’re all invited to attend her Lawn Gone Book Party – with some very cool party prizes! Six garden blogging friends and I are hosting 7 great giveaways this week, all related to the theme of – [...]

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Glassybaby Goodness

by Rebecca Sweet
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Having three good friends and two of my favorite clients going through various stages of cancer right now, I’m particularly aware of kindhearted people and companies who are making an effort to help others.  Which is why I’ve become a huge fan of Glassybaby. While very well-known throughout Seattle (seen on the tables of at least [...]

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Kiss My Aster – Book Giveaway

by Rebecca Sweet
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For those of you looking for a totally different kind of gardening book – one that’s fun to use and that will definitely make you laugh out loud, all the while giving you down-to-earth practical advice then this book is for you. Seriously – Amanda is awesome. For those of you who aren’t familiar with [...]

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Wake your Winter Garden – Inspiration from the Washington Park Arboretum

by Rebecca Sweet
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There’s something magical about a winter garden, and I never pass up an opportunity to visit one – especially one that’s known for looking it’s best during the bleakest months of the year.  While attending a family wedding in Seattle this past weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting the J. Witt Winter Garden in [...]

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Sarcococca and Daphne – the stars of my February garden

by Rebecca Sweet
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Here we are February 1st, and my garden couldn’t be smelling any sweeter!  I wanted to share with you two of my winter superstars as they’re some of my favorites for adding heavenly fragrance to this typically cold and bleak month.  In my temperate Zone 9 garden, there’s still a few random leaves hanging on [...]

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The Backyard Parables – Book Giveaway

by Rebecca Sweet
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For those of you who read my blog, you’re probably aware that I’m very photo-driven.  I can’t get seem to get enough beautiful garden photographs and have to use restraint when writing a new post.  I love taking them, I love looking at them, and they’re often the only way I know best how to [...]

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Hooray for Heucheras! An interview with Terra Nova Nurseries

by Rebecca Sweet
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Heucheras (aka: Coral Bells or Allum Root) are one of my favorite perennials in the garden, whether adding spots of color in the front of the border, massed together in drifts or nestled into a container.   I’d be lost if I couldn’t use these little treasures in my designs, as their foliage comes in [...]

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The heartbeat of my garden – my transformed shed

by Rebecca Sweet
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This month my office is being featured in Sunset Magazine (my copy just came in the mail yesterday and I’m so excited I can hardly breathe!!)  I’ve literally grown up with Sunset in the house, whether it was magazines, how-to or garden books lying around my mother’s and grandmother’s house.  So imagine the pride that [...]

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Dramm’s Garden Tool Review & Giveaway

by Rebecca Sweet
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My garden-watering meltdown had been brewing for years.  It finally came to a head this past summer when I had finally had enough of the hoses in my garden constantly kinking every time I moved a few feet. My husband would try to help, buying me ‘the best’ the big box stores had to offer [...]

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Garden Designers Roundtable – Memory and Plants

by Rebecca Sweet
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We all tend to collect our memories somewhere – scrapbooks, journals, photo albums, memory quilts, recipes or family movies (just to name a few).  But for many of us, our gardens are what carry us through the years, bringing back fond memories through sight, scent, touch and taste. Personally, I can’t help but think of [...]

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The Layered Garden – Book Giveaway

by Rebecca Sweet
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You know when you see a book and you just know it’s gonna be good?  Well, that’s how I felt about The Layered Garden, by David L. Culp, and photographed by the talented Rob Cardillo.  And I knew I held a gem in my hands when I read the glowing forward, written by Lauren Springer [...]

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