For the Birds!

Most of the garden lovers I know, also love birds, cats, dogs ... Here's a cute project for the birdies ... it's from Pinterest. Click thru on the links below to get directions.

Source: animals.desktopnexus.com via Jeannie on Pinterest

Hardscaping Your Lawn-Free Garden

Episode 3: "What-To-Grow-Instead-Of-A-Lawn"

What's going to be planted, you ask. Well, we're not ready to think about that yet. Start with how do I want to use this space? And, then, consider hardscaping ... paths, sitting areas, retaining walls, water features, trellises. These come first! Here are some ideas:

Wide, generous steps make a clear path to the front door, with an invitation to sit and visit along the way.

Native grasses don't have the mowing needs of our traditional lawns. This path looks deliciously wild as it leads to a dry-stacked flagstone bench.

For the recycler, an urbanite (broken and reused concrete) makes not only a great pathway material, but a satisfying one, too! This is a nice look for a casual path.

A graceful walkway gives a bit of polish to this young garden. Doesn't that warm color give it some punch?

Old concrete can be pretty unappetizing, but new concrete, like these pavers with their salt finish and plantings are quite the thing!

It is ok to get creative with your materials!

 Have fun planning your new lawn-free garden!

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help! Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

Lawn-Free Garden Tour

Episode 2: "What-To-Grow-Instead-Of-A-Lawn

Last month I went on a garden tour that highlighted gardens that were river-friendly and water-wise. The tour (and park exhibit) were sponsored by a community-based group that called themselves the, Elk Grove Greener Gardens Project!

Here are some of the gardens I liked the best.

I like 3 things about this first garden. One: the dry stream bed is nicely done, curvy with some partially blocked areas. Two, the courtyard walls (although you can't see it so much here) were rounded to accomodate a tree ... so much better than a rectangle! Three: the contrasting foliage. I believe the gray-blue is a lavender, with Golden Breath of Heaven, Coleonema 'Sunset Gold', behind it. This is an important point to remember when choosing landscape materials. You can take a garden from bland to beautiful with contrast, and one of the best ways to achieve it is with foliage. Designer, Roberta Walker, did a lovely job!

Same home ... with better view of the courtyard and showing more of the "come-alive" effect of having contrasting foliage  (here, Snow-in-Summer, Cerastium tomentosum, is the star of the show with it's white mounding flowers and gray leaves). Imagine this space with a plain green lawn. Imagine it with all green shrubs. Isn't this better?

A young neighbor boy was happy to assist on tour day. Courtyards are a great trend in landscapes today ... they make use of your front "acreage" and bring life to the neighborhood.

This home also has a nice stream bed and while not a courtyard, this home also has a porch area that the homeowners enjoy. When you have an interesting front yard that invites wildlife, it's more fun to sit outside.

This homeowner loves color, and filled her yard with it. Not all of her plants are drought tolerant, but with the absence of a lawn, there's ample water to maintain these and still be under her "water budget" (a term the water providers use when calculating the combined water needs of a desirable water-wise landscape).

I got to peak at her back yard, too! Yep, more color!

One of my favorite elements of the day, this divider made of wood and copper pipe. A stylish space divider that tied in with the plantings ...

 ... a nearby Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar, Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca pendula',

and, the Blue Fescue, Festuca ovina glauca. 

Thanks to my admiration of his front yard, I was invited to take a look at his back yard. More turquoise - too charming, wouldn't you agree?

My final favorite was this garden. I like the retaining walls, but was especially fascinated with their incorporation of a rain garden behind same walls! 

A close-up of the dry-stacked wall, with a variety of water-wise plants: Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina), Shore Juniper (Juniperus conferta), Creeping Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis prostratus) and Bearberry, (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi).

And, hiding behind that wall, a water-retaining area that will absorb the run-off which will percolate into the soil and recharge our ground water system.

It was a fun day, and as these tours tend to go, you gradually get to know other garden enthusiasts!!!

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help! Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

Pin of the Day: Beautiful No-Mow Yards

Episode 1: "What-To-Grow-Instead-Of-A-Lawn"

It's a hot trend, on many a homeowner's wish list, but it's not entirely easy to go "lawn-free",  especially if you have to remove Bermuda grass! And, then there's the question of what will you replace it with? One option for our Sacramento gardens is native grasses. Deep-rooted, they require less water, and, best of all, they need rarely see the mower! Click thru on this picture for a great review of the book .

Source: blueplanetgardenblog.com via Jeannie on Pinterest

Note: this photo is from my "Favorite Gardening Books" Pinterest Board. If you haven't discovered Pinterest, check it out! I love it. A place for all the wonderful pictures, recipes and how-to's I find on the web and a place to share some of my own. If you want an invite to join (at this stage, an invite is what you need), let me know and I'll shoot you one.

... and, later in the week, join me for a

Free Tour - Delta Bluegrass Native Grasses

Thursday, May 24th, 2012 from 10 - 2, Lunch Included 

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help! Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

Pin of the Day: a DIY Circular Brick Patio

Last week I had a nice visit with a homeowner who showed me pictures of charming patios and walkways and the garden elements that she loved, and this photo was one of them! This circular patio is only 7' in diameter. Can't you think of a special place in your garden for a sweet spot like this?

Source: sunset.com via Jeannie on Pinterest

Note: this photo is from my "Gardening" Pinterest Board. The picture links to Sunset magazine article on how build one of these for yourself. If you haven't discovered Pinterest, check it out! I love it. A place for all the wonderful pictures, recipes and how-to's I find on the web and a place to share some of my own. If you want an invite to join (at this stage, an invite is what you need), let me know and I'll shoot you one.

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help! Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

Pin of the Day: OMG it's a Great-Tailed Gackle!

Birds are a part of our gardens ... along with the motion of the grasses, the bees going end up in their hunt for pollen, and sometimes, even, the neighbor's tape of "Does the Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?" wafting its way over the fence (seriously). Most of the time I like the quiet sounds best, but if a Great-Tailed Gackle came to visit ... well that's another story. He'd probably wear out his welcome after a bit, but highly entertaining in small doses!

Source: allaboutbirds.org via Jeannie on Pinterest

Note: this photo is from my "Things with Wings" Pinterest Board. It links to a wonderful site on bird identification, including how they sound, which is a huge part of the above bird's allure! If you haven't discovered Pinterest, check it out! I love it. A place for all the wonderful pictures, recipes and how-to's I find on the web and a place to share some of my own. If you want an invite to join (at this stage, an invite is what you need), let me know and I'll shoot you one.

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help! Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

Pin of the Day: California Native Plants

California native plants - are you a fan? There's a lot to recommend. Native plants are pre-qualified garden visitors. They've already proven they can survive in your gardening environment. They also invite their friends ... the birds, bees and butterflies that love their berries, pollen and nectar.

Source: laspilitas.com via Jeannie on Pinterest

Note: this photo is from my "California Native Gardens" Pinterest board.It links to a article on how be successful with your native gardening. If you haven't discovered Pinterest, check it out! I love it. A place for all the wonderful pictures, recipes and how-to's I find on the web and a place to share some of my own. If you want an invite to join (at this stage, an invite is what you need), let me know and I'll shoot you one.

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help! Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

Pin of the Day: Flowers You Can Eat

I love this picture for the weathered wooden fence as much as for the sunny nasturtiums, but then, I always love gardens and spaces that make me feel like I'm in the country. Did you know you can eat these flowers? They're a bit peppery ... nice addition to a salad for both taste and visually. Also I hear they're good with a dab of cream cheese. Edibles mixed in with ornamentals is a hot trend ... not only flowering plants that can be used for teas or as an accent (like lemon verbena, pansies. borage and nasturtiums), but also bolder vegetables like artichokes and chard, fruits like blueberries and of course, citrus! Rosalind Creasy has been writing about this for the last 40 years (The Edible Mexican Garden, Edible French Garden, Edible Landscaping, etc.) but it's finally catching hold in a big way. My social media friend, Ivette Soler, has written a best seller that will give you all the info you need to be successful ... The Edible Front Yard.

Source: gossipinthegarden.com via Jeannie on Pinterest

Note: this photo is from my "Edibles in the Garden" Pinterest board. If you haven't discovered Pinterest, check it out! I love it. A place for all the wonderful pictures, recipes and how-to's I find on the web and a place to share some of my own. If you want an invite to join (at this stage, an invite is what you need), let me know and I'll shoot you one.

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help! Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

Pin of the Day: a Mother's Day Hint

One of my most "re-pinned" photos on my Pinterest page (just means it was popular)  ... I showed these on this blog earlier, but some things deserve repeating, and, with Mother's Day coming up, you just might need a hint. These flagstone hearts make wonderful stepping stones or are pretty as an accent just as they are. The cost about $15 and are sold at Silverado Building Supply and Nursery in Sacramento.

Source: genosgarden.com via Jeannie on Pinterest

Note: this photo is from my "Garden Art" Pinterest board. If you haven't discovered Pinterest, check it out! I love it. A place for all the wonderful pictures, recipes and how-to's I find on the web and a place to share some of my own. If you want an invite to join (at this stage, an invite is what you need), let me know and I'll shoot you one.

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help! Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

Pin of the Day: Rock Feet

These rocks are cute - exactly as they are! But, wouldn't they also be a delight embedded in a walkway. What a surprise that would be. (Surprise is a design element I personally think is important)

Source: tumblr.com via Jeannie on Pinterest

Note: this photo is from my "Garden DIY" Pinterest board. If you haven't discovered Pinterest, check it out! I love it. A place for all the wonderful pictures, recipes and how-to's I find on the web and a place to share some of my own. If you want an invite to join (at this stage, an invite is what you need), let me know and I'll shoot you one.

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help! Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

Pin of the Day: a Grape Tree

Isn't this a great idea? I'm really taken with it. I have a couple of grapes I purchased last year that need to be planted, too ... hmmm...

Note: this photo is from my "Gardening" Pinterest board.If you haven't discovered Pinterest, check it out! I love it. A place for all the wonderful pictures, recipes and how-to's I find on the web and a place to share some of my own. If you want an invite to join (at this stage, that's what you need), let me know and I'll shoot you one. The picture originally came from the book, "Garden Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces" by my social media friends, Susan Morrison and Rebecca Sweet. (this book is not only inspiring but incredibly practical - most of us have rather small plots of land to call our own. "Garden Up" was written with us in mind!)

Source: lifeonthebalcony.com via Jeannie on Pinterest

Pin of the Day: Outbuildings

Wouldn't it be fun to have a rig like this? A traveling outbuilding ... enjoy it at home and then hook it up to your SUV or truck or whatever and take it somewhere? Doesn't seem like it would be so hard to make, does it?

This photo is from my "Outbuildings" Pinterest page.If you haven't discovered Pinterest, check it out! I love it. All those pictures I find on the web or have on my blog that I want to gather together so I can show them to a client, or just look at for ideas. If you want an invite to join (at this stage, that's what you need), let me know and I'll shoot you one.

Source: picasaweb.google.com via Jeannie on Pinterest

My Sister's Rose

My sister has a rose garden ... I'm going to have one, too! She says this beauty is either "Fame" or "First Prize, whichever, it grows tall, has sturdy stems and has blooms as big as your hand.  What's your favorite rose?

Source: genosgarden.blogspot.com via Jeannie on Pinterest

Weekend Fun

Two things on my weekend planner: a trip to the Antique Trove for their "yard sale" and a visit at the Mad Imports warehouse to see what treasures I might find! I'll start with ...

  Mad Imports

This business is like a traveling french flea market. I first encountered MAD at Sacramento's Home and Garden show in January. Fun, fun stuff! They do lots of shows and then they have warehouse sales as well.

At the January show, I bought myself a charming (made in China) tray with this cute red birdie detail and grabbed their shop info. Turns out they're only at their warehouse every other weekend. I've been there once and bought an iron trowel door knocker (better get myself a good old garden door to attach it to). Here's their location and schedule info thru June. After that, I don't know. Maybe they go to Paris for the summer?

April 28 and 29

May 12 and 13

May 26 and 27

June 9 and 10

June 23 and 24

Sat hours 8 am to 4pm

Sun hours 10 am to 2 pm

1115 Fee Drive (close to Arden Fair Shopping Center, off of Hwy 160)

Sacramento, CA 95815

916-599-0600

Mad Imports End-of-the-Day Update

Here's what really caught my eye...

Nice potting bench, made by a retired gentleman in the East Bay out of recycled materials (notice the pvc tubing in the lower right corner of the picture. It connects up to a garden hose and the spigot works. A potting bench that has water = Good Thing! $110

 How's this for a girly vignette? I love the dress frame. I think'll be returning tomorrow to pick up a red one. Only $7 and I can train some creeping fig on it. Nifty, heh?

I'm also tempted by this garden swing. It's a nice 2-person size and it's comfortable. I think for the right person, this would be a most favorite thing. $280.

Antique Village Grand Opening and Yard Sale

My other adventure will be to the Antique Trove in Roseville.   This is my favorite antique store ... lots of garden worthy items both inside and out! They've added a lot of shops to their Garden Terrace, and I want to see what they've got!

I bought this for my niece for Christmas... it's really, really heavy (made of iron)!

Something I liked, but didn't buy ... darn ...this hand-made divider would make a great trellis (or 3 great trellises).

Antique Trove loaned me this antique spanish day bed and the polish gates in the right corner for my California Days, Moroccan Nights garden display in 2010. I love the elements in this picture ... the antiques, the parasoleil copper panels, the birdcage from High Hand Nursery, the handcrafted hanging metal lights. 

Need a Shopping Buddy? Give Me a Call!

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help! Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.

Simple Pleasures in the Garden

Sometimes I look around at my garden and I see messes and work to be done! But today I look around and see simple pleasures...

What? Have you not heard of a coppiced Scarlet Oak? Me either! I told Tree-man in latin, to take out the Tupelo. He didn't speak latin, and my tall beautiful scarlet oak got the chain saw treatment! Ouch. Now I have a scarlet oak shrub in its first year of shrubhood. Since this tree grows to 60 - 80 feet, if I let it grow like this it will cover my entire front lawn and the street as well. I know I should do something, but I don't want to.  I like its shrubyness ...

 and its shiny leaves!

Next we have the remains of a sickly giant sequoia that had to be cut down. I had Tree-man de-branch it and leave this up, thinking husband would want to carve a totem. Hasn't happened yet, except in my mind.

Here's one of those gardening rewards you get once in a while ... finding out that the plant you thought you killed is still alive! This is the California native Silk Tassle 'James Roof'. I saw it in major splendor in the WPA Rock Garden a few years ago. Haven't figured out where to plant it yet and thought the problem had been solved for me. Dead. But, it's alive! I get another chance. (I have learned that the plant you actually get in the ground has at least a 2x chance of survival over the one that remains in its nursery pot... I'd been courting its demise by not heeding that lesson.)

Here's my stately Jerusalem Sage (another - not in the ground yet - plant). I've enjoyed this plant in other gardens, but there's a special pleasure to being able to say, "this one's mine!"

This swiss chard seems to be a perennial. It grew thru the winter and is still kickin it! The semi-translucent stalks really light up the garden! For those into edible gardens - and that's everyone these days! - this goes on the list!

Another happy discovery ... last year I planted my first Milkweed (a Showy Milkweed), the food of choice for the Monarch butterfly. The Monarch has several generations in the space of a year. Starting from their wintering ground (Mexico or Pacific Grove), they take off and land somewhere - I like to think that's Sacramento where they lay their eggs. (and then die? I don't know what they do after this ...) The eggs hatch, hopefully near an Milkweed and the pupa/catterpillars start eating their way to adulthood. When they make this transition, they fly north to their summer grounds, where the next generation takes over, and flies all the way back down to their winter grounds. It's a fascinating story... But, back to MY garden story ... this plant goes dead-looking in the fall. But LO! here it is poking its face up, just like it's suppose to!

My Cecile Bruner climbing rose is bursting out. It's a grower, that Cecile! Gorgeous when in bloom and then a race to keep it a manageable size ...

It's spilling out every which way, but after it's done with its once-yearly bloom, I'll be cutting it back, because this is only it's first growth spurt and I have to tunnel thru it as it is.

 

OK ... on to the Hanson Birdie Boys, outside for a bit of a sun bath. This is Bruno, he is a handsome guy who likes to build things. If I bring him some twigs or attach a bit of loose-woven fabric to his cage bars, he's like, "oh, my, what is this!?!" Quirks his head left and right and hops to a nearby branch for a closer look. Next thing I know, the twigs or fabric is gone into his little bird hut!

This is Sir Elliot. He's not a builder. He likes to watch. And, Bruno likes discussing things with him. Sometimes I think they're talking about me ... especially if  I've done something really heinous, like those ten days when I had to give Elliot twice daily eye drops!

This really is a messy area! The remains of the old fence, the mexican fan palm (ugh!) fronds blown down by the winter wind, and some tree limbs that were in the way. This one has two simple pleasures - our beautiful new fence that my husband built (very straight - he used complicated ancient methods to accomplish that), and tomorrow I have someone coming over to haul it all away! Hallelujah!

Another candidate for "All is Not Lost! It's Spring". I bought 3 charming coreopsis last year ... delicate things with rosy red flowers. I didn't think they had any underground ability to regenerate any growth this spring. But, look closely ... there's some new green growth!

I know, I know, I'm almost done. Just a couple more places to look... This is a tupelo (This is not the one that was supposed to be removed, and wasn't. This is the other one ... the good one!). Perhaps you can see the sweet airiness of the spring green leaves.

These are "pinks" that I removed from the Elderberry Farms native plant demonstration gardens. Very sweet, but not a native! This is one of the pleasures of plants ... the seed you save in a napkin when you're on a walk, the cutting that roots in water as easy as can be, the seed packages you spread out on the table to admire like Halloween candy, the plants that were given by a friend from their garden - and brings a bit of that friendship along with it.

My last picture (finally!) probably sums it up better than any other ... the pink oxalis was in our yard when we bought our house. That's another story, but, the yellow oxalis I took from behind the children's museum in San Francisco and brought some home. And planted it! Well - jokes on me. This one is An Invader Plant. I don't recommend you plant it in your garden, but, there is joy in that yellow flower. And, that is simply a pleasure!

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help! Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.