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Having now gardened in three states — Kansas, Georgia, and Alabama, I’ve come to this conclusion: You don’t really know anything about a new garden space until you’ve been digging and planting and sweating and killing plants for at least three seasons. Maybe longer. The act of growing things on any parcel of land will,Continue reading “Gardening is a Journey (A Lesson in Patience)”

I can’t help myself. Woody ornamentals are my weakness. They are the biggest temptation for me lately, and in a weak moment I will buy a shrub, or small tree, with no real consideration what I’m going to do with it. This is bad. Very bad. This is exactly what I tell people not toContinue reading “Confessions of a Shrub-aholic”

If you’ve been dreaming of a flower garden this winter, this is the perfect time learn how to do it all, from planning to planting to pruning. Whether you crave a tropical look for the backyard or an elegant container planting for your front porch, I’ve written a book that will get you started andContinue reading “New to Gardening? I’ve Written a Book Just for You”

Once the leaves have fallen, which often doesn’t happen until November here in Georgia, I am both relieved ( there is no more work to be done) and hopeful as I look forward to what the next growing season might bring. I’m not cutting back much of anything until late winter as I’ve been remindedContinue reading “A Long Winter Think”

Gardening is a metaphor for life. I’ve come across this saying in books and magazine articles over the years, and I can tell you it is true. Gardening is a lot like life – full of ups and downs. There are many days when things sail along smoothly. There are rare moments of bliss, whenContinue reading “Embracing Failure: Making Peace with Your Imperfect Garden”

When the 90 degree heat and humidity of August arrive in Georgia, I take a month-long break from gardening. Honestly, it’s just too hot here in zone 8 to get much accomplished, so for me it is a month to reflect on the highs and lows of my spring and summer garden so that IContinue reading “August Garden Critique: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”

I began gardening in my twenties, and for me it was all about flowers, lots and lots of flowers. Foliage? If a plant or shrub I chose for my garden had interesting, attractive foliage, well that was a nice bonus. Many years later, as I started to visit other gardens, I noticed the stunning plantContinue reading “Glorious Greens: Using Foliage Plants to Create Beautiful Garden Spaces”

Now that spring is in full swing here in the South, I wanted to give visitors to my website a peak inside my gardening book. It is chock full of ideas, gorgeous photos, and easy to follow design illustrations for you to try in your garden this year. I’ve written this book for those newContinue reading “Sneak Peak Inside My New Book”

I can’t remember a time in my life that I did not glance at a field or patch of woodland without looking for something in bloom. It’s easy to fall into this habit when you are quite young, not very tall, and curious about anything that is growing at your feet. Now that I’m aContinue reading “Weeds I’ve Grown to Love”

I first noticed euphorbias when I lived in England, and they struck me then as both handsome and quirky, but I never considered them again until I was working as a designer years later. One summer our wholesale grower listed a few different euphorbias as accent plants for the upcoming fall season. Those of usContinue reading “Handsome Euphorbias for the Southern Garden”