Native Plants Line the Path to Sustainability

If you are a reader of the Art of Stone Gardening blog posts, you know that we frequently discuss the importance and significance of native plants in landscapes. When you plant natives, you help rebuild habitat, strengthen the web of life and fight climate change. In this piece, reprinted with permission by Homegrown National Park®, […]

How to: Watering in the Winter

In case you didn’t know, watering your plants in the winter is integral to ensuring their survival. Winter weather is cold, dry, and windy, a villainous trio of conditions out to wreak havoc on your garden. The low humidity and strong dry winds of winter can cause root damage, which affects the health of the […]

Take it or Leaf it: Advice on Plants in Pots

Plants, like people, are tough. Both can adapt to a wide range of living conditions. Though plants thrive naturally outdoors where they can spread their roots in the ground, they can also survive in many other situations, such as in pots. If you have shied away from planting in pots, read on. Here’s a primer […]

Secret Wall, Secret Garden

This past year we had a client in Sautee Nacoochee that had a failing wooden retaining wall supporting a cracked and failing driveway. The yard, however, was a beautiful array of mountain laurel and native North Georgia foliage. Our job was simple: tear down the current construction and replace it with a wall and driveway […]

A Manual to Annuals

Winter annuals

Over the years I’ve learned a lot about what makes a great flower pot or flower bed. Like all gardening, setting the stage for a beautiful display of nature is about art and design just as much as it is about practicality and knowledge of your plants. A good place to start when understanding the […]

Purple Petal Power!

Earlier this year I did a blog on pink flowers, my recommendations for pink garden showstoppers, and the color psychology of pink itself. Now it’s time for pink to step aside and make way for her sister purple! Purple petal power is real and I’m here to spread the word. Purple flowers are always a […]

Those Who Plant Together, Grow Together

Definition What is a community garden? Merriam-Webster tells us: Community: a unified body of individuals: such as people with common interests living in a particular area Garden: a plot of ground where herbs, fruits, flowers, or vegetables are cultivated When you put those two words together, you get a group of people who live in […]

Pretty in Pink!

camellia

In a recent blog I discussed the convenience and beauty of having a cutting garden, somewhere I can go to relax and harvest beautiful blooms for any arrangements and bouquets I might want. Some of my most beloved blooms from these gardens have coincidentally been a favorite color of mine, pink! In my garden and […]

Flowers: Medicine to the Mind

Luther Burbank’s quote says it all, “Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the mind.” A cutting garden is just that, a place of happiness, sunshine and a balm for the soul. We live on a wooded lot with lots of great shade in which to grow […]