Mastering the Art of Pruning
Grab those hand saws and sharpen your shears, it’s pruning season ladies and gentle gardeners. With winter halfway through, any and all deciduous plants are well and truly dormant – the ideal time to prune the majority of trees and shrubs. It’s late enough that they won’t try throwing out any new buds, but still early […]
Design Series 2: What is a Moon Garden?
In short, a moon garden is a planting design principle tailored to the evening and night hours rather than the daytime. Here’s a deep dive into the idea of moon gardens, how they work in the North Georgia region, and how you can bring one to life. Key Characteristics of a Moon Garden Designing Your […]
Friends Don’t Let Friends Plant Wisteria!
Wisteria may look pretty but it can be highly invasive. Wisteria is a showy, woody vine that blooms in mid-spring and will grow to 10 to 25 feet, depending on the support it is given. There are four species in the genus, three native to eastern Asia and one native to the eastern USA. When choosing […]
Design Series 1: Color in Shade Gardens
I want to talk a little about how to mix different colors in shade gardens, as well as how to keep the colors looking good even after the flowers fade. First, please check out this article from the online magazine, Horticulture: https://www.hortmag.com/using-metallic-hues-in-the-garden-and-containers?utm_medium=email&utm_source=HTM+-+NL+-+Weekly+Newsletter&oly_enc_id=7387J4209056J6X I like to combine the chartreuse hostas together with red & green shrubs. […]
Move Over Hydrangea – Versatile Viburnums for North Georgia
In North Georgia, the variety of plants you can incorporate into landscaping is impressive, from native wildflowers to towering trees. Viburnums are often overlooked in garden design, yet they bring a unique beauty that makes them a great choice. With their stunning white blooms, diverse foliage, and vibrant berries, these shrubs add beauty to your […]
A Guide to Fall Planting
As the crispness of autumn settles in and the leaves turn vibrant shades of red and gold, gardeners are given a unique opportunity to set the stage for a flourishing garden come spring. Fall is actually an idea time to plant a variety of trees and shrubs. We plant as long as the ground is […]
The Inward Garden
This is my book review of “The Inward Garden: Creating a place of beauty and meaning,” by Julie Moir Messervy. It is one of my favorite design books, and I highly recommend it to everyone. This book was an epiphany of sorts for me. It explained why I am drawn to certain gardens and to […]
Over the Rainbow – Planting Irises
What a lovely time of year to be writing about irises. https://artofstonegardening.com/perennial-and-shrub-gardens While not harbingers of spring, their colors and beauty represent their namesake, Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow. Irises come in a rainbow of colors and appear in breathtaking forms. With spring on the very near horizon and growing season behind it, […]
“Mountain Home” wins Silver Georgia Landscape Award for Design/Build/Installation – Residential, Over $150k
Congratulations to Us! Art of Stone Gardening recently won a Silver Award at the 2024 Georgia Landscape Awards GALA, hosted by the Georgia Ag Council. Our category was “Design/Build/Installation – Residential, over $150k. https://urbanagcouncil.com/gala-georgia-landscape-awards/ Crafton Mountain Home: The client asked us to remove improperly selected and placed plant material, and claim underutilized space to create […]
10 Best Practices for an Environmentally Sensitive Site Analysis
At Art of Stone Gardening, we approach landscape design with a deep commitment to environmentally sensitive site analysis. This means thoroughly understanding the unique characteristics of each site before making any decisions. Environmentally sensitive site analysis – meaning taking into account the site and it’s environment before buying plants or installing landscapes and hardscapes. The […]
