Is it spring yet?

I can’t wait to garden. I realize I am a few months away, but still.

Leah! What kind of crazy awesome master gardener shit is this?

Holy cow, woman! Who knew?? Amazing. I need to introduce you to my crappy front yard, asap.


Before:


After:



HERE.

And HERE is the backyard.

Grey Gardens, HERE.

Yes.

Minus the columns with the urns, but beggars can't be choosers, right?

I am still toying with the gravel idea for my backyard.

From HERE.

Let's go outside.

I really deserve a pool.

Which is a ridiculous thing to say in general, and especially ridiculous to say in Seattle where you only have pool-appropriate weather about 20 days out of the year, but come on, people. I mean, my ANKLES ARE FUSING TOGETHER. Isn't a pool theraputic or something? I think the answer is YES, which means I deserve one. Let's get on this, people.

Seriously, how much does it cost to have one put in? And how much should one budget to spend on heating it, etc (in a mild climate)?

Pergola.

I want my better half to build a pergola for me so I can park my teak table & chairs out there, hang a chandelier, grow wisteria on it, and enjoy some grilled meals out there under my happy little canopy of vines.

Is this too much to ask?

If so, then I just want this for now. Get on it.

Fake plastic trees.

I posted in December about DEBORAH SILVER and her landscaping. Some of you hate the uptight boxwoods, but I love them.

I particularly liked these crazy ball boxwoods:



Anyway, Deborah emailed me today saying that she's seen the post. She also sent a few more photos my way.




She wrote, "Attached are more photographs of the boxwood ball garden property-including a grass amphitheatre/sculpture I did. I also sent a picture of my client with her daughter-she has great style in addition to a great garden. I have been very lucky to have her as a client all these years. She has pushed me to be the best I can be."

This ampitheater. Seriously, can you even stand it? Amazing.




In her email to me, Deborah also gave me a good ribbing about my stubborn stance against fake flowers.

"I think fakes can be fine foolishness. Even beautiful. At any rate, they are evidence of my hand-which is very real." Fair enough. And given the look of things she creates, I would take her fakes any day.



Deborah Silver & Co.

Her store, Detroit Garden Works

City gardens.

Loving this book.

City Gardens: Creative Ideas for Small Spaces



Garden books are either:
1) Too plant-focused
2) Too suburban & bland in terms of design and layout
3) Too dreamy and unreal, like, "Fancy-Ass Gardens of Europe"

This one is just right. A small book, but full of good ideas for people with in-city lots. Every idea here is elegant and sharp. No crap.

More garden lust.

Thanks to Great Dame (who left a comment in the last post) I am now turned on to Howard Design Studio landscape architects, the firm she works for. Holy god, the photos are amazing.

Because you can grow pretty much anything in the Washington, people do just that. They grow everything in a big messy rubble of plants and vines and call it "cottage." Ugh.

Now this is my idea of landscaping. Order & loveliness at every turn. Yum.

Garden lust.

I have been obsessing over HER work and THIS store, via THIS blog.











Deborah Silver & Co landscaping.