Just because it is winter doesn’t mean that nothing is happening in the garden. While many plants are dormant, their roots and stems are busy feeding the plant until warmer temperatures trigger foliage and bud growth. Some plants have bark that changes color with colder temperatures, like Twig Dogwoods (Cornus spp) or Willows (Salix spp)…. Read more »
Biophilia means ‘love of living systems’.Edward O. Wilson, biologist, professor and author introduced the hypothesis in his book ‘Biophilia,’ as ‘the connections that human beings subconsciously seek with the rest of life.’ Join me in exploring Biophilia through my musings about gardens, landscape design, horticulture, ecology, biodiversity, conservation and many other topics about living systems.
Vegetables Dance with Flowers
American’s desire for better taste and nutrition, a smaller carbon footprint, and teaching children about connections with the natural world are leading people to add vegetables and fruits to their ornamental gardens according to several marketing surveys (i.e., Garden Writer’s Association, National Gardening Association, etc.). Growing vegetables and fruits in kitchen gardens or enclosed spaces… Read more »
Slow Knowledge in the Garden
While I was researching for my Masters in Agriculture, one of the articles I read was entitled “Slow Knowledge” by David Orr. The article describes the dismantling of an agricultural system of the Balinese by a World Bank project using Western technology intended to improve productivity. The new system ignored millennia of ecological knowledge held… Read more »
Albers Vista Gardens
Once a blackberry infested hillside, Albers Vista Gardens was transformed by the owners with a little design help from Garden Vision Inc. Read the story authored by Kate Easton and featured in B&B, the monthly WSNLA publication. Click Here to read
Water in the Garden
Creating a balanced water-based ecosystem is the key to natural ponds in the garden. Read about how water quality, fish and plants are inter-related in this article published in WestSound Home & Garden, Fall 2007. Click Here to read
Gardens for Seven Generations
Sustainable ecosystems can result from reasoned garden design and implementation that create gardens for seven generations. This article was published in WestSound Home & Garden, Winter 2006. Click Here to read
Anatomy of a Garden Design
Read about landscape design principles of unity, sequence and flow, proportion and scale, balance and boundaries, alignment and proximity, focal points and sight lines, and using the five senses and time in this article published in WestSound Home & Garden, Fall 2006. Click Here to read
Timeless Gardens
Before Thomas Church, William Robinson and Gertrude Jekyll pioneered the blurring of the lines between inside and outside. Read how the Arts & Crafts Movement blended reverence for nature and practicality in the full article published in WestSound Home & Garden, Summer 2006. Click Here to read
Renovating Arts & Crafts Homes
Although well-built, many Arts & Crafts homes need renovation a hundred years later. Read about some considerations for this kind of renovation project published in WestSound Home & Garden, Spring 2006. Click Here to read
Arts & Crafts Movement, Homes
Timelessness of unity or architectural design and the sense of timelessness of nature bonds human and natural path much like the Arts & Crafts movement provides a unity and diversity at the same time. Read the complete article published in WestSound Home & Garden, Fall 2005. Click Here to read