12/29/12

Gratitude


Gratitude is an important part of life and being a Landscape Designer in Santa Clarita I am grateful every day for my wonderful, creative, fun career. 

Most importantly I am grateful to my clients.  I have the best clients around, and I want to personally thank each and every one of you for allowing me into your home and into your backyard to collaborate with you to turn your yard into a garden.  A beautiful sanctuary that is special for you and your family.  I want to thank you for trusting me, and sharing with me because that is what makes my heart sing! 


This year has been an "interesting" one for myself and my family, and if it wasn't for the support that I received from my fabulous clients and friends, it would have been a lot more challenging.  That said, it was also a WONDERFUL year, filled with beauty, comfort, love, growth, creativity, truth, and more.  I feel that having this kind of support in 2012, will allow us all to move forward into a better, brighter 2013.  Helping one another will only lead to a more wonderful way of living, moving forward - that is what it is all about.



Thank you again, I hope to share with my old friends again in 2013 and make a lot more new friends too. 



As always I'm here for you, just call me at 661-917-3521 or visit my (soon to be new and better) website

Invite me into your garden, and watch it grow!

xo,

Julie

12/26/12

Wordless Wednesdays


Lingularia 

Lingularia Flowers

Red Geraniums - 'tis the season in SoCal 

If you would like help beautifying your life, think about creating a garden with me. You can call me at 661-917-3521,  or visit my website

12/22/12

Baby It Is Cold Outside!


Being a landscape designer in Santa Clarita I think it is my sworn duty to remind you how to take care of your plants when it gets unseasonably cold, and if you are anything like me you have noticed that it is pretty chilly outside lately. 

I wrote the original post in 2010 and I run it again and again each year to remind my clients and friends that it is time to winterize, that said there are a few more tips that you should know.


1. Although most plants will benefit from watering prior to the cold (as mentioned in the post), cactus and other succulents WILL NOT. If they have too much water they will burst and are better a little under watered.

2. Check your irrigation timer!  If you have the time set for early early morning hours, now is the time to have the watering start after 8 am.  I switched mine to 9 am.   There are two reasons for this, if the plants are super cold and maybe even a little frosty the last thing you want to do is put water on them and thaw them quickly.  Let the sun or air temperature do the job. And... if you water your landscape early in the morning you will create a pool of water that will quickly turn to ice.  A huge slip hazard!

Here is the link to How To Prepare For Frost.  Take a few moments to read through and get ready, you may need it more than once this year.

Happy Holidays, enjoy your time off, your friends, and your family.  You deserve it!


If you would like help beautifying your life, think about creating a garden with me. You can call me at 661-917-3521, or visit my website. (And stay tuned I'm working on a re-do)

12/19/12

Wordless Wednesday



Eucalyptus sideroxylon


Heuchera 'Marmalade'

If you would like help beautifying your life, think about creating a garden with me. You can call me at 661-917-3521, or visit my website.

12/15/12

Tis The Season



Holidays can be a fun time, a joyful time, and a stressful time and being a Landscape Designer in Santa Clarita, California I am not immune to the holiday rush.  There are a lot of commitments during the holidays, lots of shopping, cooking, and decorating to do so I wanted to drop you a line to remind you to stop and smell the roses.



Take a nature break, and fill a container with pretty plants that will make you smile and add cheer to your wintery days.

Spend a little time taking your four legged friends for a walk, or stroll the trails alone for a walking meditation.  Look up at the  sky, down at the ground,  watch the leaves turning and falling, enjoy your life!



The days fly by much too quickly, things change, so embrace what you have and what you are.  'Tis always the season for that!

xo,
Julie


If you would like help beautifying your life, think about creating a garden with me. You can call me at 661-917-3521 or visit my website.

12/12/12

Wordless Wednesday - 12-12-12 (a window of possibilities)

Under a Eucalyptus

Plectranthus, under the pines

Jurassic Park Iris

If you would like help beautifying your life, think about creating a garden with me. You can call me at 661-917-3521, contact me via email at julie@thegrassisalwaysgreener.net or visit my website.

12/8/12

How To Care for Achillea (Yarrow)

 photo courtesy of Worldwide Exotics Nursery

Being a Landscape Designer in Santa Clarita, I love using Achillea (Yarrow) in my designs so I thought I’d put together some tips for taking care of it after you have planted it in your garden.  Here in Southern California the yarrow is still up and green, and may be much of the year depending on our weather.

Achillea is a drought tolerant, California native perennial that grows by rhizomes and is supposed to go deciduous in winter. Well, there is still time because technically it is not yet winter – but the yarrow I’ve seen lately shows no signs of deciduosity! (No probably not a word, just thought it was cool). Yarrow is hardy from zones 3-10, so it is a very versatile plant, and yes I’m sure it is deciduous by now in the lower numbered zones.



They have beautiful fern like foliage, and wide variety of colorful flower choices (white, yellow, pinks, reds, and even lavender) that rise above the foliage in flat-topped clusters of daisy shaped flowers. Achillea is deer resistant, so you aren’t planting salad for your buddies; however they do attract beneficials such as butterflies and bees. They are also are said to repel ants, flies, mosquitoes, and beetles, sounds like an almost perfectly balanced plant when it comes to insects.
 
They are great in a native California garden, drought tolerant bed, Cottage/Informal garden or even a rock garden, make a nice dried flower in an arrangement and they even make a lovely ground cover. Be careful about over watering, because they can take the water well, but become invasive.


Preferring fast draining soil and full to part shade, they are pretty low maintenance and very pest free. Achillea generally starts blooming in June, and if you deadhead regularly you should be able to keep them blooming right into the Fall (September for sure and maybe later). If you don’t deadhead through out flowering time be sure to dead head in the fall (September/October) so that they can get through the winter better.
 

They can be dug up and divided by pulling off the litte baby plantlets that you find. You can also plant any seeds you collect, but they will likely not be the same as your parent plants so instead of seed collecting why not find a friend with yarrow you love and do a little trading?

I love to plant my Achillea with Nepeta (Catmint) native salvias, sedums and even euphorbias. They look and play very well together.

So to wrap up I’ll tell you a little story, Achillea is named for the mythological Greek hero Achilles. In Homer’s Iliad his soldiers used achillea to treat their wounded comrades, this gave rise to Yarrow’s additional common names of Bloodwort or All Heal. (Sounds like a good reason to classify this as perfect for a Healing Garden)

Now I can't end this without a shout out to my favorite local Achillea grower, Worldwide Exotics Nursery in Lake View Terrace, California has a great selection of Yarrow and Sara Scissorhands takes great photos, so I had to steal one for this post.  Visit them for a great selection of  "torture friendly' plants.  

If you would like help beautifying your life, think about creating a garden with me. You can call me at 661-917-3521, contact me via email at julie@thegrassisalwaysgreener.net or visit my website.

12/5/12

Wordless Wednesday









If you would like help beautifying your life, think about creating a garden with me. You can call me at 661-917-3521, contact me via email at julie@thegrassisalwaysgreener.net or visit my website.

12/1/12

What To Do In Your Southern California Garden In December



As a Landscape Designer in Santa Clarita, I want to be sure that all my clients, friends, and fellow gardeners know the things to do out in the garden in December.  I lived on the east coast for much of my life, and spent the month of December pouring over seed catalogs or enjoying the bare branches getting ready for snow.  Now I am out in the dirt (and sometimes mud) and I'd love for you to join me!  To that end, here is a list of gardening chores you  might like to take care of in your garden this month.

If it is brisk outside, you know you've earned a nice warm cup of tea, coffee, or cocoa.  Get out there and enjoy!

Click on the link to get your list!


If you would like help beautifying your life, think about creating a garden with me. You can call me at 661-917-3521, contact me via email at julie@thegrassisalwaysgreener.net or visit my website.

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