Garden Tour - Keelya Meadows

I absolutely love the book Fearless Color Gardens by Keelya Meadows. I knew she was a local designer because she has a little exhibit at American Soil and Stone and I knew her home garden was open sometimes but I was not sure of the details. I joined the Garden Conservancy this year and lo! her garden was on the Open Days list! I made T. come with me.

I love all the quirky paving, concrete forms, and amazingly fun use of color. I wish my own garden was just like this. It was a bit over the top for T. though and I suspect he will object.

I’m desperately in love with that leopard-spotted Ligularia and must acquire one for myself immediately.

A Visit to Moose Metal in Concord

I stopped by Moose Metal to inquire about a metal project for a client. How cute is this metal moose logo?!

It was a wealth of fun metal detritus for me to snap pics of.

Many shapes and colors!! I really, really want to include colorful metal elements in my landscape designs. My pinnacle of silly landscape color you ask? I bright pink arbor. I want one myself so surely everyone else will, right?!

More cute moose themed items :)

Right Tree, Right Place

This is a handy tree guide made up for PGE by California Polytechnic State University for the Bay Area, Northern and Central California. If you're working on a site with power line issues this tool can be quite useful.This page has some handy guides for selecting the right tree for the right place based on some other guidelines like allergy and toxicity or fire safety.

You can order a Right Tree, Right Place poster from PGE here and download a cute poster for Palm trees appropriate for use near power lines.

The people who planted redwoods right next to the power lines at a recent client's property could have used this guide 15 years ago...

Pretty Little Grass - Melinis nerviglumis

This is such a pretty grass! I have one that I got from Annies Annuals. Devil Mountain has it listed as Rhynchelytrum nerviglumis but I have only seen it as Melinus nerviglumis. It’s not exactly low water but I really love the soft pink plumes.

From San Marcos Growers site:

Melinis nerviglumis (Ruby Grass) - A small semi-evergreen cool-season grass from S. Africa that forms a tidy 1 foot tall clump. It has blue-green foliage that turns purplish-red in the fall and showy pink flowers that rise a foot above the foliage in the spring and summer with spent flowers still attractive into winter. Best in full sun with regular water in a well-drained soil but tolerates considerable periods without irrigation and near seaside conditions. Is hardy to around 20° F and perennial in gardens in USDA Zones 8 and above but useful as an annual in colder climates. Cut back in fall to midwinter to allow fresh new foliage to emerge in early spring. A very attractive grass massed or scattered in a border planting or as a container specimen. This grass is called "one of the showiest of the small flowering grasses" by John Greenlee in his "Encyclopedia of Flowering Grasses". Ruby Grass is native to large areas of Africa south of the Sahara and also in Madagascar. There are several interpretations for the entomology of the genus name. One thought is that it is derived from the Greek 'melas' meaning "black" for its black seeds but another thought is that it is from the Latin 'mel' meaning honey for the sweet aroma some species have. The specific epithet is in reference to the veins on the glume (flower bracts). We have grown this plant since 1997 and early on used its older name Rhynchelytrum neriglume. This same plant is marketed under the names 'Pink Crystals' and 'Savannah' and besides Ruby Grass is commonly called Bristle-leaved Red Top. It should not be confused with the related Melinis repens that has naturalized in disturbed sites along the California coast. 

Pleasant Hill, CA Rasputin Music Green Roof and Landscaping

I'm just starting to drive around the far East Bay (i.e. Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, etc). I drove buy this Rasputin Records Shop the other day and was kind of surprised to see the nice landscaping and green roof! I stopped to snap a few pics and I probably should have run in to ask who did their landscaping. Next time!

Anywho, how cute is this?! Do I see some invasive grasses? Yes. I am trying to ignore them though. :)

APLD Plant Fair

Sadly, I didn't manage to take enough photos during the APLD Bay Area District Plant Fair. Next time, I must remember to capture some overview and crowd shots!

The APLD Bay Area Plant Fair is a fantastic event where growers and nurseries come together to showcase their latest and most popular plants. It's a great opportunity for landscape designers and plant enthusiasts to learn about new varieties and get expert advice on plant care and cultivation. I always enjoy attending and hearing the detailed stories and tips from the growers. It’s a fun and informative event that highlights the best of what our local nurseries have to offer.


I won this in the raffle. Now I need to figure out what to do with it!

I would also like to send a shout out to the amazing APLD Bay Area Board Members and Volunteers who pout this event on. Thank you so much for all your work!

Pots on a Deck

This area is quite hilly, and many homes feature decks with stunning views. In some cases, the backyard slopes so steeply that a deck is the only way to fully enjoy the outdoor space. Beautifully designed plant containers can enhance the deck experience, surrounding you with nature and making it even more enjoyable.

I love designing pot vignettes. Selecting pots with harmonious colors and appropriate sizes is crucial. Tiny pots on a large deck or oversized pots on a small deck can frustrate clients and detract from the overall deck experience.

Container shopping can be quite enjoyable, whether you're doing it alone or with clients. It's essential to invest in high-quality containers. From my observations of various client landscapes, I've noticed many small, cheap, and abandoned containers cluttering their side yards. I really don’t love the fiberglass containers I keep seeing. Pottery store inventory can change frequently, so it's important to shop and purchase your pots in a timely manner.

I love the other garden ornaments you can find. Concrete cats, pigs, chickens, etc.

Plants ready to get installed into new homes!

A selection of pots about to get planted up. In the background there you can see two crappy older fiberglass (or plastic even) pots that have simply failed at the seams. They will get hauled off and dumped. We replaced them with nicer ceramic containers in the same basic shape. I love this color palette.

People can get serious sticker shock when it comes to buying contains. Jaws hit the floor, etc. I like to emphasize that they will lat a lifetime and beyond.

A visit to Delta Bluegrass

If you are looking for quality sod in the Bay Area Delta Bluegrass is the place to go.

In the droughty Bay Area, we're encouraging people to remove their lawns. While there is a time and place for some lawn in a residential setting, it's often overemphasized. A common misconception is that families with kids need a huge lawn for play. In my opinion, this is a myth. Lawns are large, monotonous spaces that can limit play opportunities for children. A sprawling lawn might be useful if a child is passionate about soccer or another ball sport, but otherwise, it doesn't offer much in terms of stimulating play and I’m just not into it at all!

That said, a small patch of lawn can be nice, I admit! However, if you simply want a cool, grassy spot to relax with a glass of wine, a meadow is a far better option. Picture an Adirondack chair under dappled shade, with your bare feet in a soft, lush meadow—that's my idea of heaven. OR, picture a couple o tree stumps set up to be a table and chairs and your small children gathered around adding items like pine cones or flowers or rocks to the “table”. Anyway, meadows not only provide a more diverse and interesting landscape with ‘scope for the imagination’ - to quote Anne of Green Gables, but they also support local biodiversity and require less maintenance than traditional lawns.

But, again, there is a place for lawns even in the Bay Area. And there are low water and native options and that is why I am at Delta Bluegrass to hear about them all.

Rolls of Sod at teh Delta Bluegrass growing grounds.

Kurapia! Kurapia is a ground cover plant developed (I think developed in Japan?) from Lippia nodiflora. Kurapia is a low-maintenance, drought-tolerant ground cover that is being used as an alternative to traditional lawns. It requires less water, fertilizer, and mowing compared to typical grass lawns, making it an environmentally friendly option. Kurapia also has strong resistance to pests and diseases and can handle a wide range of soil types, making it versatile for various landscaping needs. Its ability to establish quickly and provide a dense, green coverage makes it an appealing choice for residential and commercial landscapes. It fills in quickly and WILL overrun sidewalks/hardscapes. It works well in shade as well as sun. In the sun this is not great if you have lids and pets running about because it will be absolutely COVERED in bees. In shade it does not flower much.

They have a handy dandy installation exhibit of various sods

The sod cutting and rolling machines were badass. I love weird industrial equipment. They also fed us lunch!

Visualizing with SketchUp

Still thinking about visualizing. I do like 3D scenes in SketchUp. It’s nice to have a but of that realistic texturing and the rendered shadows are super nice as well. In my own hand drawings I tend to not put those dramatic shadows in because I worry about ruining the drawing. :D

I think one of my annoyances with SketchUp is just have to do with finding the right plant objects to use. If a picture looks fairly realistic the plants need to be pretty darn close the actual plant being spec’ed in the plan otherwise homeowners get confused. With a hand-drawing you can just be like, “oh yeah, this is an artistic rendition”.

Again, these are not my design they are from the wonderful Susan at Garden Alchemy.

Oh, yeah, I also created that metal hoop sculpture you see in the photos in SketchUp and you can find it in the 3D Warehouse and use it if you want to!


New skatepark landscape

I noticed the other day when I stopped at CVS on San Pablo that they added a really interesting skatepark along the parking lot to this strip mall. What a great use of space! I really love the large boulders they used.

Designed by Wormhoudt Inc.

Here is a cute SketchUp walk through of the concept. They did include one female presenting entourage with a skateboard!

There is a you tube video of the grand opening here.

I stopped to walk through it and took a few pictures.

Sibling Road Trip and all the Succulents!

It’s road trip time with my sister! You can find her here: Bookmaniac. She’s incredibly smart, funny, insightful, and all the things I love. Simply the best!

Anyway, we’re embarking on a road trip south towards Santa Cruz filled with infinite silliness, and our last stop is to pose by the giant artichoke, stay tuned. It’s May in California so it is grey and FOGGY. We have many layers with us.

Succulent Gardens
2133 Elkhorn Road, Castroville, CA 95012

I mostly took pictures of succulents on this trip because we stopped at Succulent Gardens in Castroville, CA, to marvel at their amazing collection. This huge nursery, hidden along a winding road near Moss Landing and all the otters in CA, specializes in a wide variety of succulents and has some fun and creatively designed display gardens and greenhouses. I don't know why but seeing rows and rows of tiny succulents all alike is so visually pleasing! While there, I also signed up for a workshop to create a succulent frame planter, though I somehow forgot to take a picture of it.

Succulent close-ups.

More succulents….

I did buy some stuff…

As promised, here were are looking a bit disheveled in front of a large artichoke.

Vendors? What are vendors?

I went to my first NorCal event this year. NorCal is a trade show for the landscape business that is held at the San Mateo event center every year. Every possible thing related to the landscaping industry can be found and explored there.

Who are these vendors? Why do I want to know them?

Vendors are the sales representatives for all the landscaping products used in the industry! Who knew?! Not sure why I find this so weird and novel but I do.

Why do you and I want to know them? Because they will help you spec their products, they will spend a decent chunk of time explaining things to you and your clients. They will even sometimes go to your project site and bring samples for your clients. Amazing!

I, while not exactly shy, do not love to chit chat. I marvel at people who can chit chat. I just can’t do it, my mind goes immediately blank and I become the most uninteresting person in the universe. Although, (CW: alcohol) if I have a glass or two of wine I will totally hang out and chit chat. There is no wine at NorCal so just forget that. Anyway, you can chat up these folks and they will be absolute fonts of knowledge about their products.

Some examples:

Local stone yards will often have sales reps that rep various paver companies. For instance, PBM - Peninsula Building Materials has showrooms all over the Bay Area. If you contact them with a question about a product you will be directed to the sales rep for that product.

Specific paver companies - For instance, StepStone has a sales rep for the Bay Area. Need color samples? Call them!

There are sales reps for sod, plants (think Proven Winners or Sunset Plants), landscape lighting, and irrigation companies are just a few I can think of.

Not sure if I emphasized this enough but these people will help you for FREE. It’s great.

The SF Wave Organ

My sister and I jaunted over to SF to visit the Wave Organ in January, sketchbooks and coffees in hand. How had I never been here? All the years I was living in SF and specifically exploring everything I could and I somehow never ended up here. Anyway, I went now and it was a beautiful winter day with the sun shining. It was so nice to just sit and draw in my sketchbook listening to the waves and people and sea gulls.

Sun shining on an open sketchbook with a pen and green pencil. There is a pen drawing of the wave organ in the sketchbook

Sun shining on an open sketchbook with a pen and green pencil. There is a pen drawing of the wave organ in the sketchbook

The sculpture was delightfully like an ancient ruin. I do love a good ruin. A real ruin not to miss is the Sutro Baths. I go there all the time and I should post some pics of that landscape.

This wave organ is a sound sculpture made from reused items including stones from an old cemetery. I love that and it makes for some very interesting sculptural stone work. The actual organ pipes are PVC and concrete. I think it sounds kind of like rubber bands!

Panorama picture with a woman with purple hair pointing a camera , the Golden Gate Bridge in teh background, the smooth waters of the San Francisco Bay and then some palm trees and a sea wall on the right.

Panorama picture with a woman with purple hair pointing a camera , the Golden Gate Bridge in teh background, the smooth waters of the San Francisco Bay and then some palm trees and a sea wall on the right.

Sunset Headquarters in Menlo Park

I heard the Sunset headquarters is going to move so I wanted to dash down there to visit it before it relocated. When I first moved to CA I worked just down the street but did not know about Sunset magazine at that time. Nor did I particularly care about gardens at age 19. Anyway, my friend and I jaunted down there to take some pics.

I’m so glad we did! I just love the color and texture they are playing with. The bright orange, round trellis is also speaking to me. I would like to own this moon gate trellis for myself!