Start planning a meadow garden by identifying inhabited spaces within the garden’s boundaries. If you’d like to build a water feature, bird feeders, a plot for vegetables or a gazebo or deck, designate those spaces first. Your vision for large shrubs and trees should also come before garden beds.
Category Archives: my projects
A primer on the cactus family, and growing mountain ball cactus, Pediocactus simpsonii, from seed
Cacti make up one of the most diverse and rapidly-evolving plant families in the world, native exclusively to the Americas. First appearing about 35 million years ago (fairly recent for such a large group of plants), the first cacti were thorny tropical shrubs with woody stems and lush leaves. They’re hardly recognizable as cacti, but …
What is a crevice garden? An intro to a fun and attractive trend in xeriscape
A crevice garden is a style of garden arranging rocks in layers sticking vertically out of the ground. Originating in the Czech Republic, the crevice gardening style mimics natural rock features and plants growing from cliffs and crags. This charming practice is increasingly popular in the United States, particularly Colorado. Thousands of species of plants …
Continue reading “What is a crevice garden? An intro to a fun and attractive trend in xeriscape”
Bringing tropical cuttings and seeds to life
If you love plants, coming home from a trip with a bunch of seeds and plants in tow is like adding an extra day to your vacation. Like an 8 year old back from trick-or-treating with a cache of Halloween candy, you spread your bounty out over the kitchen table and sort through what you …
Continue reading “Bringing tropical cuttings and seeds to life”
What I’m Working On
After several posts on gardening science, it’s as good a time as any for some background on myself and how I came to starting this blog. From 2016-2019, I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. I worked as a copywriter and was experimenting in landscape design/installation with another designer who specializes in native California …