foliage

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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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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Why Grow That When You Can Grow This?

by Rebecca Sweet

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I’m thrilled to introduce one of the best books to hit the stands this year – Why Grow That, When You Can Grow This, by my good friend Andrew Keys (Timberpress, 2012). Now you may be thinking “Oh – she’s clearly biased, no doubt, since she just said they’re good friends.” Fair enough. But if [...]

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Top 10 Favorite Orange Plants

by Rebecca Sweet

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It’s that time of year again when our homes and gardens are decked out in orange and black, and mine is no exception. And what better occasion than Halloween to talk about one of my favorite colors in the garden – orange! Last year I wrote about my favorite black plants, so it’s only fitting [...]

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Cornerstone Garden Grasses

by Rebecca Sweet

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Sonoma’s Cornerstone Gardens is one of my very favorite public gardens to visit any time of year. In my opinion, though, the fall is the best time of all. Not only are the summer crowds long gone but the colors of fall are just beginning to explode. No longer filled with grapes, the surrounding vineyards [...]

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Eggplant Extravaganza

by Rebecca Sweet

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I’ve been traveling a lot this summer and am so glad to finally be home! But after nearly five weeks away you can imagine the state of my garden. Fortunately (for my garden, not for me!), my husband was home for most of the time so he was able to keep it watered and somewhat [...]

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Garden Designers Roundtable – Using Texture in the Garden

by Rebecca Sweet

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Welcome to the Garden Designers Roundtable, where designers from around the world participate in monthly discussions about all things gardening. The topic for this month is Texture. As many gardeners already know, gardening appeals to all the senses. Not only do our eyes visually benefit from our creative efforts, but equally important are a garden’s [...]

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Oxalis in my garden

by Rebecca Sweet

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I love Oxalis in my garden. No, not the horribly invasive oxalis that has taken over my lawn, but the colorful and well-behaved hybrids available in nurseries everywhere. Come and take a look….

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How to avoid winter’s ‘hole in the garden’

by Rebecca Sweet

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I was having a conversation with a new client the other day, and she was asking me how I go about designing a garden. As we walked through her existing garden, she was afraid it was too early in the year for me to really get an idea of what it looked like, since so [...]

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Heavenly Hellebores

by Rebecca Sweet

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Hellebores are typically pretty easy to grow here in Northern California, requiring partial shade, well-draining soil and moderate irrigation. They come in a staggering range of colors, from the deepest maroon to the palest ivory. They’re usually categorized as either having upright blooms on tall stems (aka: caulescent) or no stems, typically with downward facing [...]

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Goodbye Lovely Leaves!

by Rebecca Sweet

It’s that time of year again, when our gardens are aflutter with leaves falling (and falling and falling), blanketing our beds with brilliant shades of yellow, orange and red. Ever wonder why leaves fall?

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Top 10 Favorite Black Plants for Halloween

by Rebecca Sweet

It’s no secret that one of my favorite colors in the garden is black. It’s pretty hard to find plants that have true black foliage (most are more like maroon), but here are some that come pretty close. And just in time for Halloween!

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Garden Bloggers Bloom Day – October 2011

by Rebecca Sweet

I’m so excited to be participating again in another fabulous Garden Bloggers Bloom Day! For those of you not familiar with what ‘Bloom Day’ is, it’s a blogging tradition started by May Dreams Gardens where, on the 15th of each month, garden bloggers everywhere have the opportunity to show you what’s going on in their own gardens. [...]

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Plants for pennies…

by Rebecca Sweet

Do you know how easy it is to get several plants for the price of one? Some of my favorite 2-for-1 plants (actually it’s more like 10-for-1) are coleus. Just snap off a stem, stick it in a glass of water for about 10 days, and when you have lots of little roots you just [...]

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Window boxes help add vertical interest to your garden

by Rebecca Sweet

I guess I just can’t stop thinking about gardening up (can you blame me?) When writing our book, Garden Up, Susan Morrison and I had to draw the line somewhere, and unfortunately a few topics didn’t quite made the cut. Window boxes were one of them, and it’s too bad because I really feel that [...]

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Gorgeous grasses in the garden

by Rebecca Sweet

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If you’re familiar with my blog, then you know I love grasses. And luckily they’re becoming more and more common in most every nursery, with many selections to choose from. Yes, grasses are all the rage and for good reason. Why? Generally speaking, grasses will grow in just about any type of soil, most [...]

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Dutchman’s Pipevine

by Rebecca Sweet

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While visiting my friends in Connecticut last week I couldn’t help but fall in love with the massive Dutchman’s Pipevine that seductively draped over their arbor. It’s giant heart-shaped leaves seemed to glow from within when backlit by the setting sun. The tendrils gently coiled downwards, adding an almost ethereal appearance to this cozy space.

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A Phormium flowers

by Rebecca Sweet

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This year my ‘Sea Jade’ phormium surprised me by sending up a few tall stalks of flowers for me to enjoy. Phormiums (aka: Flax) don’t always bloom around here, but I think due to our very wet spring they’ve decided to reward our patience by showing us what they’re really capable of! Phormiums are one [...]

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So you want to create a no-lawn front garden?

by Rebecca Sweet

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As a garden designer, I’ve noticed a growing trend over the past few years: more and more people are wanting to replace their unused, water chugging, labor intensive front lawn with a beautiful low-water, low-maintenance garden. These days it seems no-lawn gardens make up about 75% of my business. The remaining 25% are people who’d [...]

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