by Carol | Apr 24, 2015 | Garden Tips
What is garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)? This cool-season biennial’s leaves and stems emit the smell of garlic or onion when crushed. Plants are 12 to 48 inches in height, and in their second year, produce numerous white flowers with four separate petals....
by Carol | Apr 22, 2015 | Garden Pests, Garden Tips, Gardening Green
Last year I wrote a blog about a serious new insect problem for landscapes in the Pacific Northwest. It was serious because rhododendrons and azaleas make up a large percentage of the plants in most gardeners landscape. The easy way to control the insect was with a...
by Carol | Apr 1, 2015 | Garden Tips, Gardening Green, Low Maintenance Landscape Examples, Plants I Recommend, Rain Garden, Winter Gardening
Portland Rain Garden Plants with Year Round Color As a Portland landscape designer I like my rain garden designs to have year round color. Many Portlanders have rain gardens in the front yard so it’s important to have year round color. Without careful plant...
by Carol | Mar 18, 2015 | Dramatic Flowers, Garden Tips, Spring Gardening
Spring Hydrangea Pruning A lot of my clients have asked me to help them with pruning their hydrangeas. This blog addresses mophead hydrangea pruning. Hydrangea pruning is simple and easy once you know the rules. There is a link to a pruning video at the end of this...
by Carol | Mar 4, 2015 | Before and Afters, Garden Tips
Before: Hidden Craftsman Gem I think before and after photos are fun to look at. Here is a home on SW 52nd in Portland that went on the market and needed some serious curb appeal to attract buyers. Their interior designer, Mary Tongue, from HOMEmakers of Oregon...
by Carol | Feb 17, 2015 | Garden Tips, Gardening Green, New Improved Plants, Plants I Recommend, Spring Gardening, Winter Gardening
Winter flowers feed bees. It’s easier to provide flowers for bees in our cool early springs than you might think. What we are learning about saving bees can be made very simple. Feed them! Use a diverse plant palette with flowers from early spring until...
