Landscape Design Articles
Updated Rain Gardens Just in Time for Fall
Rain Gardens in Portland Oregon Are Now Part of Local Culture. This blog is from 2008. Goodness we have had so much fun with rain gardens since then. Portlanders have fully embraced the concept of directing winter water into areas where the water can return to the...
Catio Tour – Patio hang out for you and your pets
Last weekend I toured 16 Catios (patio enclosures for humans and their cats) on the first-ever Catio Tour. This tour is the brainstorm of the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon and the Audoban Society of Portland. Audoban's idea being that fewer songbirds will be made a...
Before and After: Curb Appeal
Before: Formal, and Flat with No Curb Appeal Earlier this summer, we featured 'Skinny and Tricky' front yard design from scratch. This time, we're showcasing an existing front landscape that needed a complete 'do over'. Carol and the clients had worked together...
Dog-Friendly Landscape Design from across the country
As you may know, part of the joy I get working with clients is helping them design a space that reflects their life and lifestyle. So it won't surprise you that I enjoyed hearing from two dog lovers who wanted my help with a dog friendly landscape design for their...
My Impatiens Have Mildew – What to Do?
A warning about a new mildew problem affecting colorful, shade standby annual impatiens and Landscape Design in a Day alternative recommendations: It's bad news, but the Oregon Association of Nurseries Digger Magazine issued a warning about a new mildew problem in a...
Before and After New Construction
Before: Skinny and Tricky Lot Last month, we highlighted the 'Hidden Craftsman Gem' redo. One of my customers emailed me saying it looked like it was doctored in Photoshop. I took it as quite the compliment! It was indeed a very dramatic before and after...
Before and After Hidden Craftsman Gem
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 hired...
Traveling to Hummingbird Heaven: A video at Joy Creek Nursery and more
Traveling to Hummingbird Heaven: My Trip to Joy Creek Nursery If there is a garden visitor welcomed by virtually every gardener, it’s the hummingbird. Its brilliant colors, start-and-stop flight and light-speed lifestyle seems to appeal to everyone. Attracting...
Bowl of heavenly hellebores
Hellebores are trendy but we don't hold that against them. Notice some of the flowers are doubles. This photo is from the Hardy Plant Society Display at the Yard Garden and Patio Show. Many flowers these days now hold their faces up, not nodding down. This new...
Attention Blueberry Lovers: It’s time to plan ahead!
Attention Blueberry Lovers: It's time to plan ahead! If you’re like me, you can't get enough blueberries. If you are thinking, “Hey! I could grow blueberries, they’re easy,” you'd be right! So now’s the time to take a minute to plan ahead for next season’s blueberry...
Five Ways to Avoid Gardening Grief: Take Care of Your Tools
Gardening wouldn’t be gardening without (at least) a few essential tools. My Felco bypass pruners and my Corona 6-inch folding pruning saw are my go-to tools. But it’s part of human nature to ignore tools until the worst possible moment, when you can’t find them, or...
Killer Winter Color-Oregonian Home and Garden Blog features my wild photo of Cobra Lily
The Oregonian's Kym Pokorny features my photo of Cobra Lily in it's wildly colorful winter cold flush and gives us the skinny on some other cool killer plants. Kim Pokorny's blog on Carnivorus plants (Don't forget to come and see me at the Yard Garden and Patio Show...
Pick Dwarf Fruit Trees To Fit Your Yard
This time I'm engaging in one of my favorite activities: Myth Busting! It’s amazing how much flat-out misinformation is available online to gardeners of all levels of experience. The worst of it occurs when the misinformation makes gardeners reluctant to try something...
Audoban Open House This weekend December 1st, 2nd
Don't miss this event! Why? The Portland Audubon Society on NW Cornell road has their big holiday open house this weekend. Delicious treats, warm beverages, live music, and crafts for kids are waiting for you to enjoy. Also, this is one of the best places to go...
Apple Tasting at Portland Nursery
I am sharing my top three apples out of 50 selected at Portland Nursery's 25th Apple Tasting Celebration. A garden tip is to research (hint taste) and plant special varieties of edibles in your garden, not common types. The Peoples Choice apple this year...
Garden Tip: Plant Your Trees in the Fall
Before we forget how hot it was this summer and how precious shade was, let's talk trees. Is it time to consider planting trees for shade or privacy? I love to plant trees, especially if I am starting out with a bigger specimen..........in the fall. If you are looking...
Oregonian Home and Garden blog features Carol Lindsay, Design in a Day Video
Hi, here is my recent exposure in the Oregonian's Home and Garden blog by Kym Pokorny. This blog gives me credit for starting the Design in a Day way of doing landscape design oh so many years ago and has an amazing photo of me with the amazing Barley Dog. Courtesy...
Treatment for Blackberry and Ivy – How To Get Rid Of It
Garden Tips for getting rid of Plant Invaders The best time of year to treat blackberries and English ivy is coming right up.....so prepare now! Plan to treat invasive blackberry in September and early October. The reason for the specific timing is this: only in the...
Attack of the Root Weevils in Portland Shade Gardens
Root Weevil Damage in Portland Gardens Why you should care about root weevils, and what to do about them once you do. A lot of leaf notching can spoil the looks of the plant just when you wanted to enjoy its beauty. It is ugly, but it doesn't kill your plant. The...
Plantings for Parking Strips
This article describes a very attractive but low maintenance planting and hardscape design for a parking strip in NE Portland. Making great access across a strip for dry, non-muddy feet is practical and provides an attractive low maintenance landscape that adds tons...
5 plants that are Dog Pee Proof (or nearly so)
Favorite Dog Friendly Landscaping Plants for the NW Portland Landscape designer Carol Lindsay lists her 5 favorite dog friendly landscaping plants for landscapes with dogs, or gardens near city parks where there will be dogs marking their territory and yours as well....
Dog Friendly Landscape Designer-Design in a Day
Landscaping for The Family Includes Dogs Looking backward and forward on a 20 year career as a landscape designer, there are many benefits to my work that I love. It is satisfying to help my clients have something they want and then have it be 200 times more wonderful...
Synthetic lawn and your dog-a heavenly match?
Synthetic Lawn Can Be The Best Landscaping For Your Dog Garden Designer Carol Lindsay of Landscape Design in a Day talks about her experience with synthetic lawn for clients with small yards and dogs. I am excited about synthetic lawn. I can't believe I am saying...
Huge Happy Flowers on Itoh Peony
Here is a photo of me with Melanie Jane's (my step daughter) new Itoh Peony. Check out this improved cultivated variety of peony with strong stems and huge rain resistant flowers. Look at the variation of flower petal colors. The newest flower is much darker than...
