Inktober 2020
Inktober is an annual event open to the public. Anyone who wants to practice ink drawing can create a drawing a day (or less) during the month of October and share their work on social media, adding a few key…
Case for Making Watercolors
Case for Making is an art supply shop in San Francisco that makes hand crafted watercolors. I recently purchased a custom selection of half pans and a petite metal travel palette. I was inspired by some of their unique colors…
Back Raised Garden
The back raised garden had a few large shrubs when I arrived–some were bare and one looked a bit sad with droopy dark green leaves. A deciduous fern was fading late in the season and there was a layer of…
Courtyard Garden
When I arrived, the courtyard garden was overly crowded and a bit of a mess. A couple plants dominated the space, making it feel heavy and dark. I’m intent on creating a woodland garden with dappled light–something to provide shade…
Plum Blossoms
Oddly, it snowed early today–big, fluffy flakes of snow. The weight of it even made the tall clump of bamboo slouch over, which is a new thing. Then, the sun came out, the snow quickly melted, and it felt odd…
Evaluating Sunlight (gardening)
To determine what plants can go where, I performed a sunlight evaluation for all garden zones across the property. On a sunny day, I took photos of each area every hour. I placed those photos in grids to evaluate the…
Washington Park Arboretum (part II)
After gathering ideas from the Winter Garden in Washington Park Arboretum (see Washington Park Arboretum, part I), I explored the rest of the park. I found structural art in a few bare Japanese Maples and a very peaceful reflective pond.…
Washington Park Arboretum (part I)
As I develop my gardens, one of my goals is to enhance their aspect during the cold months. With at least half of the property surrounded by maples, it can get pretty bare and drab. after learning about the winter…
Neighborhood Owl
Looks like there’s a resident owl in the neighborhood. Over the last few days, residents posted pics on Nextdoor (a neighborhood community website), sharing their sightings. Here are their photos: The spectacular photo at the top of the post is…
A Dusting of Snow
It’s been very chilly here in the Puget Sound–dipping into the 20s at night, and hovering around 30s and 40s during the day. I’ve been catching up on some gardening–a little pruning and weed control–and it was so cold, I…
Garden Plans
The previous owners of my property established some very special trees, flowers and shrubs. I’ve enjoyed the profusely blooming blue hydrangea, delicate climbing rose bushes, bright salmon colored azaleas, and various ornamental maples. There are others I have yet to…
Early Buds & Garden Clean-up
New buds are starting to appear around the property. Most of the plants are still dormant, but bright green shoots have come up in the front, tiny leaves are appearing on some of the small trees, and I noticed flower…