Invasive Grasses: A Burning Issue

A week or so ago, we all watched in horror as wildfires consumed the area around Lahaina on the island of Maui in Hawaii. What is often thought of as lush and tropical went up in flames in a matter of minutes and turned into a blazing inferno. How could this have happened? Sadly, it […]

Made in the Shade

Ah, shade. Especially at this time of year we humans love the shade. Cool respite from the sun relaxes us and creates such beauty in the world. However, our plant friends have different preferences for sun. Some like it sunny, some like it shady. https://artofstonegardening.com/garden-landscape-install. Here in the Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont there is a […]

For the Love of Cooking

The Clarkson’s house in Hall County, GA sits on a high bluff overlooking Lake Lanier. The lake side of the lot is steep, the front approach to the house is level. It is a two-story, contemporary style house, probably built in the 1980s. Additions have been made to it over time. The husband’s passion for […]

Flowers In A Rainy Place

A Travelogue of Flowers: Last year, Jason and I visited a beautiful island…Ireland. We spent one week there, bicycling around 150 miles from east to west, across the Emerald Isle. It was rainy and a little chilly (even in June); however, the flowers were spectacular. This is a country that truly loves gardening! We celebrate […]

Sourcing Native Plants: It takes legwork

Before You Shop Before I direct you to some sources for local plants and you go shopping, keep the following points in mind. * Found across much of eastern North America, the Crested Wood Fern likes swamps, swampy woods, or open shrubby wetlands. It is one of hundreds of types of wood ferns, so having […]

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®, […]

Georgia Winter Garden Design

Winter for many gardeners is a wait and see time. We eagerly anticipate spring, yearning to see the pretty green leaves and perennials popping up everywhere. And hoping that everything comes back from the hard freezes (My fingers are crossed)! Right now, though, most landscapes may seem unspectacular. Very little blooms in the winter. What […]

I Speak for the Trees pt. 3

As a certified arborist, I guess you could call me a professional tree hugger. I recently attended  the International Society of Arboriculture conference and I have a lot to share with you about trees. This is the final blog of my 3 part series. In the first part, I elaborated on the importance of trees […]

Edge of Tomorrow

One very common design element in the field of landscaping is garden edging. This is something my clients are always asking me to do for their yard. Though I do think edging can be useful both visually and practically, there are some aspects of it that not every landscape artist will tell you about. As […]

I Speak for the Trees pt. 1

tree hugger

As a certified arborist, I guess you could call me a professional tree hugger. I recently attended  the International Society of Arboriculture conference and I have a lot to share with you all about trees. In this 3 part series, I will dive into the reasons why we need trees, the types of trees we […]