Healing Garden at Children's Hospital

Today I went to the Children's Hospital with my son for his biofeedback appointment; he gets bad migraine headaches (I'm sorry George it's in the gene pool). While I was waiting for him to finish his session, I wandered around the Katz sculpture garden, which is part of the beautiful landscaping on site. I thought about all the families who come to the hospital with very, very sick children and I could imagine the brief respite this space provides them. There's a lot of literature out there regarding the effects of gardens on mental health, but the basic take-home is that nature soothes our souls and allows us to breathe more slowly and relax--I guess you could call it natural biofeedback.

Lady Banks Yellow

ALSO KNOWN AS: 'Lady Banks Yellow' , R. banksiae lutea , R. banksiae luteaplena , 'Yellow Banksia' , 'Yellow Lady Banks' Rose'. I love this climber and am thrilled by its bloom every year. The Yellow Lady Banks is an extremely vigorous, once-blooming yellow climber that will happily cover any nearby tree or structure. Its distinctive clusters of yellow flowers in the spring make it easy to identify. It is a thornless rose (great!) with little fragrance (not so great). ~ Rebecca

Ginger & Miguel's Design-Build Project

Well Done Neighbors!

~Rebecca

Spring Break in My Parking Strip

 "A little madness in the Spring

Is wholesome even for the King, 

But God be with the Clown--

Who ponders this tremendous scene--

This whole Experiment of Green--

As if it were his own!"

Emily Dickinson

Filler, Spiller, Thriller

Thank you Sun Gods. It's finally time to start designing container gardens. Here are a few simple rules to guide you: Think one filler ( a plant that fills the base of the pot), one spiller (that's pretty obvious, it's a trailer), and one thriller (something with height and a captivating bloom or killer foliage).

For this pot I used a bunch of plants I found at Fred Meyers. Filler--Bergenia cordifolia. Great, shiny, full foliage. Spiller--Saxifraga 'Winterglut'. This may not be the perfect choice, but it works so well in rock gardens and the red bloom was a perfect compliment to the purple-red in the Bergenia foliage. I'm hoping it will have enough spill. Thriller--White Cosmos. Not normally a thriller, but  all white should do the trick.  ~ Rebecca

Murals in Miami

I love Miami. The landscape architecture and public art is just wonderful. Here's a clip featuring the Wynnwood Kitchen & Bar's outdoor cafe.
~ Rebecca

Ps. Follow this link to learn more about the mural art in the Wynnwood neighborhood. 

Winter Beauty

Garden design rule number one: design a garden that has interest in all four seasons. Mission accomplished.
~ Rebecca

Walking in Winter

What a great, dry winter it has been. I'm sure I will regret the lack of rain this summer and all the Seattle lawns will be browner than ever, but I have been enjoying the sun and my daily walks. The posted pictures are from a neighborhood that I think is called Maple Leaf Heights. I suppose the use of the word "Heights" makes it seem like an exclusive place, but it is not. The Heights neighborhood is filled with Tudor-style homes, probably built in the '20s and '30's, mixed with bungalows and the random post-war box style house. As is the norm in NE Seattle, some of the homes are perfectly manicured and others are a little funky and beat-up. 

Photo #1: Check-out that arch! I've never seen this cedar cultivar used so well; these guys nailed it.

Photo #2: Yes, those are stones somehow attached to that pot. Glue, cement, how did they do that? 

A Shrine for St. Nick

Yesterday I was doing some long overdue yard clean-up and I was, once again, struck by how beautiful the yard clippings were. I decided to celebrate what would normally go in the yard waste bin and start a new Christmas decor tradition, The St. Nicholas Shrine. Here are my shrine "rules": 1. Only natural objects(okay that tree is in a plastic pot and I threw-in some old red ribbon, but that's it). 2. Don't fuss(too much) over placement; once you've put the offering down, that's it, no messing. 3. Encourage family participation. 4. With each offering, thank St. Nick. He was a pretty generous guy and, he's a saint.
5. If you build a shrine, tell me about it and I'll come visit you and make an offering. That's it.
~Rebecca

One-Sided Allee

The European Hornbeam (carpinus betula) is, in my opinion, the best allee tree ever...even if it's only one half of an allee. ~ Rebecca

Fun Phinney Ridge Sidewalk

I love these kind of home-grown projects. Somebody got creative with their left-over tile pieces and decided to create their own, custom parking strip.  Well Done. ~ Rebecca

Sweet Courtyard

I do think good things come in small packages--like this lovely little courtyard I stumbled upon in the Greenlake Neighboorhood last week. ~ Rebecca

South Pointe Park, Miami

Another reason to visit Miami--South Pointe Park-- adjacent to Miami Beach.
Opened to the public in 2009, the 19 acre park was designed by Hargreaves and Associates and features a refreshing blend of waterfront activities and scenic views. From its vantage point at the southern tip of South Beach (SoBe), the park offers a welcome view of the downtown Miami skyline as well as the countless cruise ships that visit the Port of Miami.--R