The Traveling Garden Designer is jumping coasts to Bloedel Reserve in Bainbridge Island, Washington. Similar to Thuya Gardens, Bloedel was a home belonging to passionate gardeners/conservationist that has been donated to be a public garden. A completely different scale and style, but still with the combination of formal gardens and natural woodland walks. We visited Bloedel during July, and the … READ MORE
Tag Archives: gardening
The Traveling Garden Designer: Garden Preview
Over the summer I toured gardens on both coasts of the United States, which was an unbelievable gift for a gardener. Despite their geographical distance from each other, and my home in the Midwest, I left both coasts filled with ideas and inspired by the American Landscape. Both Seattle and Maine were also great short term antidotes to my … READ MORE
Container Designs Using Crosomia
This is a sponsored post from Bulb.com. Container gardens are a small element that make a quick and dramatic impact on a garden of any size. Their compact size allow you to experiment with different plant materials and color palettes, will little investment. It is also fun to experiment with perennials inside your container to be the main focal point. … READ MORE
Swapping Perennials for Annual Color
This summer I am changing around one of the beds planted at our house. While we were building the house Allison wanted to have bed mixed with hydrangeas and feather reed grass, which we placed along the driveway and the black portion of the house. The hydrangeas were striking, but overall the bed was not the most exciting thing to … READ MORE
Wandering for Inspiration
The majority of my work week is spent visiting clients, nurseries or suppliers or I am tethered to my desk designing, sourcing, pricing or general admin stuff. On the evenings and weekends I am either in my gardener or wandering with the family around Columbus. On the weekends we sometimes get a little further away to explore, can be to … READ MORE
Cutting Gardens verses Veggie Gardens
Since my profession and hobby all live in horticulture, from when I start seeing a trend to when a client makes a request can take a few years. Cutting gardens have long been increasing in popularity, but this year I have seen the flip of clients looking to replace veggie garden space with purely cutting gardens or a large portion … READ MORE
BEHIND THE DESIGN – Installing the Garden
Today I have officially been home from Philly for two weeks. I spent a total of 16 days in Philadelphia for the build, show and tear down, for which I was able to complete my portion on Sunday night to get on the road at 5am Monday for home. For the final post on behind the design of the Philadelphia … READ MORE
BEHIND THE SHOW GARDEN – The Design
ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER. The name of the garden comes from Jimi Hendrix’s performance of the song All Along the Watchtower, which he actually did not preform at Woodstock. My alternative name was Purple Haze, which was a song Jimi did perform at Woodstock. However, since there was concern if we would have enough purple perennials forced to enforce … READ MORE
BEHIND THE SHOW GARDEN – Finding Inspiration
After many months of planning and anticipation, now that the Philadelphia Flower Show is open and I am missing that persistent looming sensation. I am filling these last few days in Philly with meeting the most incredible people, both in and outside the convention center. I am so appreciative to the friends and family who came to the show, the … READ MORE