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Flowers in February? Absolutely!

by Rebecca Sweet 15 February 2012

While visiting the garden of one of my favorite clients yesterday I was really pleased with how it looked in the middle of February.  When designing, one of my priorities is to create a garden that looks good throughout the year.  Luckily, living in Northern California’s zone 9, this is a very attainable goal.  However, [...]

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Garden Designers Roundtable – Designing with Deer

by Rebecca Sweet 12 December 2011

Sure, it’s tempting to title this post Deer-Proof Plants or something of that nature but truth be told, deer will eat just about anything when they’re hungry.  And not only that, but they’re some of the craftiest animals around when it comes to sneaking into your garden.  The second you leave your gate open, they [...]

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A low-water, high-style garden in San Diego

by Rebecca Sweet 7 November 2011

I don’t think I’ve ever been as rude to another designer as I was when I saw this garden. A few weeks ago I visited my good friend Debra Lee Baldwin who graciously introduced me to a wonderful landscape designer, Frank Mitzel of Aesthetic Design.   Frank kindly took us to see a garden that [...]

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Lake Tahoe’s Glorious Wildflowers

by Rebecca Sweet 2 August 2011

I think the official number of tourists who visit Lake Tahoe every summer is something like a zillion, give or take a few.  Getting from one place to another on the lake means you’ll be driving along beautiful highway 89, most likely looking at (you guessed it) the lake.    However, sometimes if you turn your [...]

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Dutchman’s Pipevine

by Rebecca Sweet 7 July 2011

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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Celebrating Regional (and Client) Diversity – Part 2

by Rebecca Sweet 27 October 2010

I don’t know what it is, but I just LOVE designing gardens for people who aren’t from California.  Or the United States, for that matter.  I think it’s because I live in Northern California where the majority of the population are from someplace other than Northern California. Earlier this year, I wrote a post with [...]

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The Green Roof at SF’s Academy of Sciences

by Rebecca Sweet 20 October 2010

No, this isn’t a scene from Teletubbies.   Last night I attended an APLD meeting in San Francisco to listen to Alan Good, the Academy’s Landscape Exhibit Supervisor, give a fascinating presentation about the building’s green-roof infrastructure and its plant life.   While I found the specific construction of the roof interesting, it was the [...]

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Design tips for a low-water ‘Meadow Garden’

by Rebecca Sweet 15 October 2010

Today I’m participating in a massive, worldwide blogging event called Blog Action Day, where the topic we’ll all write about is Water. As any California gardener knows, water is our most precious resource.  In this post, I’m going to show you how to create a lawn-and-chemical-free meadow garden teeming with life, color, scent and natural [...]

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Beauty is everywhere – if you look hard enough

by Rebecca Sweet 10 October 2010

. It’s close to Halloween and it’s the perfect time to introduce you to one of my very favorite places on earth: Virginia City, Nevada.  Why is it one of my favorites? Don’t ask, because I can’t explain it.  But for the past 40 years or so, I’ve been infatuated with this place. For those [...]

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