GARDEN SURROUNDINGS: Using Garden Structures Makes Exciting Gardens

Muse of Africa (45.5 x 35.5 - Mixed Media Belgian Linen)

June 2022 It is always thrilling to see the use of arbors, pergolas, towers and tuteurs in a garden. Queen Marie-Antoinette had an exciting, excessive garden built in 1775, making use of structural hardscape at what is now the large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris called Bois […]

GARDEN SURROUNDINGS: Lady Banks Roses

May 2022 Lady Banks Rose has been grown for 2,000 years in gardens in China. It has no thorns, and it has no suckers. It grows on its own roots. In other words, it is not grafted. It was named for the wife of the head of Kew Gardens in the late 1800s. When I […]

GARDEN SURROUNDINGS: The Joy Of Growing Wisteria

April 2022 Wisteria has always been my favorite flowering vine. I am sure this is because Mum, Pat Welsh, loved wisteria and has multiple stories about wisteria and a deep love of the flowering, hugely fragrant vine from the time she was a small child. Read Full Article https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-the-joy-of-growing-wisteria

GARDEN SURROUNDINGS: March Is A Work Horse Month In Our Gardens

March 2022 Traditionally March is a work horse month in our gardens. My mum, Pat Welsh, gives all the details in her books which you can buy as eBooks or as used hardcopies online. Read Full Article https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-march-is-a-work-horse-month-in-our-gardens

GARDEN SURROUNDINGS: ‘A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose’

February 2022 ‘Rose is a rose is a rose’ was written by Gertrude Stein as part of the 1913 poem “Sacred Emily”, which appeared in the 1922 book Geography and Plays. In that poem, the first “Rose” is the name of a person. Read Full Article https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-a-rose-is-a-rose-is-a-rose

GARDEN SURROUNDINGS: The Joy Of Gardening With Succulents

January 2022 Happy New Year! The Joy of Gardening with Succulents Succulents have long been a good plant for San Diego County. Although many succulents like water they can survive on very little water, so they are perfect for our climate. Read Full Article https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-the-joy-of-gardening-with-succulents

GARDEN SURROUNDINGS: Joy in the Garden

December 2021 As this year draws to a close I am reminded once again of our great fortune to have the passion, the hobby, the business of growing plants. We design beautiful environments that help with climate change in our small individual ways. This is something to celebrate in these turbulent, uncertain times. Read Full […]

Garden Surroundings, Worm Castings For A Vibrant Healthy Landscape

November 2021 Several years ago, a landscape designer friend of mine in the Olivenhain Garden Club, Jan Casado, let our club know that her brother-in-law, a biology teacher at La Costa Canyon High School was making worm castings with his students and they were selling bags to raise money for their department. At the time, […]

Garden Surroundings, Butterflies & Host Plants In The Garden

October 2021 I receive so much joy by planting flowers, plants and vines that attract different butterflies to my garden. Butterflies have symbiotic relationships with different flowering plants and there are seven varieties of butterflies that come to my garden every year. Read Full Article https://www.sdhortnews.org/post/garden-surroundings-butterflies-host-plants-in-the-garden

Garden Surroundings, Tussie Mussies

September 2021 The first time I was taught how to make tussie-mussies, also spelled tussy mussy (among other variations), was by my friend Becky and a friend of her’s from the Del Mar Garden Club when they taught making tussie-mussies to the Olivenhain Garden Club, a club that Julie Anne Callis and I started in […]