perennials

Knock-out Kniphofias

by Rebecca Sweet 27 April 2012

Kniphopfias (aka: Red Hot Poker or Torch Lily) are one of my very favorite flowers to add vertical interest to the garden.  Seeing their snake-like stalks rise from a clump of lush leaf blades is always a joy to behold as they stretch their long necks what seems like several inches a day. I don’t [...]

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The Art of Plants at the Spring Trials

by Rebecca Sweet 2 April 2012

Last week I spent a few days with Jeanette Sinclair (of Woodside Images) in Southern California’s charming little town of Santa Paula, visiting Ball Horticulture’s Spring Trials to see what new treasures they had to offer the plant world. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Spring Trials, Jeanette compares it to New York’s Fashion [...]

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Avoiding the ‘hole in the garden’ syndrome

by Rebecca Sweet 11 March 2012

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 1 March 2012

  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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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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Top 10 Favorite Black Plants for Halloween

by Rebecca Sweet 29 October 2011

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 15 October 2011

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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Window boxes help add vertical interest to your garden

by Rebecca Sweet 19 September 2011

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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