Blue Planet Garden Blog

DeWit Potting Scoop Giveaway!

 

DeWit Potting Scoop designed by Shawna Coronado

Regular readers know that small space gardens come up a lot around here, whether I’m focusing on design, plant selection or even my recent foray into technology. Today I’m approaching this topic from a different angle – tools that are particular effective in smaller spaces.

Earlier this year, DeWit Tools sent me two of their new potting scoops – one to try and one to give away.  Designed by longtime gardener Shawna Coronado, you can tell a real gardener played a role in the tool’s creation, as the scoop possesses a host of thoughtful features only a person who regularly gets their hands dirty would think of. For one thing, the scoop is larger than a traditional trowel with more deeply angled sides to keep soil from spilling out. The bottom edge is sharpened, making it effective for cutting through compacted soil and small roots.  And Shawna added a feature I can’t believe hasn’t been thought of before – a small notch on the edge that’s perfect for slicing open bags of soil. Yes, I have a soil knife and garden scissors, and no, they are NEVER handy when I’m filling a new container or planting bed with soil or compost. Meanwhile, my trowel is always within grabbing distance.

Features like this make the DeWit potting scoop a solid tool for any size gardens, but container gardeners or others who garden in small spaces in particular should take note. Besides the features already listed, part of its uniqueness is in its larger size and durable construction of hand-forged carbon steel. All of this combined make it a perfect fit not only for scooping soil into containers, but a great choice for jobs too big for a traditional trowel, yet too small for a full-sized shovel. In my own garden, I plant a lot of one gallons and four inch pots, and I frequently find that a trowel does the job too slowly and messily, while a full-sized shovel is too awkward to maneuver in a constricted space. Say hello to your new best friend.

If Shawna’s name sounds familiar to you, that may because a photo from her garden is featured in Garden Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces , and also in the presentations that I give on both vertical gardening and small space garden design. Shawna’s love of gardening and her connection to environment infuses everything she does.  It’s wonderful to see her bring her talents to a new arena.

 

Shawna Coronado displays a collection of antique insulators inherited from her grandmother. From "Garden Up!"

And now for the good part – the giveaway! To win your own DeWit potting scoop, leave a comment by midnight on March 20th. And you don’t have to be a small-space gardener; when it comes to giveaways this is an equal opportunity blog. As long as you are a resident of the United States, that is. The winner will be announced on this blog post on Thursday, March 21.

 Good lucky everyone!

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Updated 3-21: And the winner is Diane C.! Congrats Diane, and thank you to everyone who entered!

Gardening App: Foolproof Plants for Small Gardens

 

I’m thrilled to announce the publication of my new gardening app, Foolproof Plants for Small Gardens. Published by Sutro Media and available for $2.99 from both iTunes and Google Play (where it is titled Plant Picks for Small Gardens), this app is yet another manifestation of my ongoing obsession with small space design.

With almost 100 plants and 450 photos, Foolproof Plants highlights some of the best options for ornamental plants that stay a manageable size, from trees that grow less than 25’ to shrubs smaller than 5’—not to mention well-behaved vines that won’t eat your house. It’s all organized in a highly searchable database that allows you to search by plant category, USDA zone, or desirable characteristics like flower color or drought tolerance. 

 

 

Here’s a breakdown on what’s included:

•  90+ plants in seven categories: trees, shrubs, perennials, vines, groundcovers and ornamental grasses plus a special bonus category.

• Plant descriptions that include cultural requirements, maintenance tips, when to “proceed with caution” and alternate varieties.
• Tags that let you narrow down your selection by USDA climate zone, flower color, drought tolerance and more.
• Links to online nurseries and how-to videos.
• Pronunciation guide for botanical names that is both written and recorded.
• Step-by-step guidelines on sustainable planting practices, including sheet mulching.
• Garden glossary.
• Sunset zones included for Western gardeners.

 

 

Because this app is intended as a resource for small-space gardeners all over the country, I enlisted the help of a talented group of horticulturists and landscape designers from other USDA zones to contribute plant choices that represent some of the best small-space plants from their regions. Click on the Contributors section in the app, and you’ll be impressed by the credentials of co-authors Katie Elzer-Peters (zone 7), Jenny Peterson (zone 8), Maria Zampini (zones 5 and 6) and Genevieve Schmidt (Zone 9 and my go-to source for the best maintenance advice).

 

To celebrate, I’m giving the iTunes version of Foolproof Plants away to three readers! To win, leave a comment by next Monday at midnight. Winners will be chosen randomly. Unfortunately, I only have promotional codes for the iTunes version, so this giveaway will run on iPhone or iPad, but not on other smart phones or on your computer. But don’t worry if you're not a fan of technology that begins with i; an eBook version is in the works, so stay tuned for another announcement in the near future…

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Update!  The three lucky winners are Leslie Peluso, Valerie Robertson and Pam Kirsting!

Small Space Design Lesson - Amy Stewart's Cocktail Garden

 

Fans of Sunset magazine, cocktails and gardening should count themselves lucky in February, because this is the month when they all converge. In celebration of her soon-to-be released new book, The Drunken Botanist, noted author, Gardenranter and cocktail aficionado Amy Stewart shares photos from her new garden filled with botanical ingredients and garnishes—and even a cocktail recipe, la vie en elderflower.

I had the great pleasure of helping Amy design her cocktail garden, and if you read the Sunset article, it may leave you wanting a few more photos and information on the garden itself. Accordingly, I'm sharing a few of the design strategies we used to make Amy’s very small garden come to life.

Although collaboration is at the heart of the design process, it is unusual for me to work with a client long distance, providing all design documents and advice based strictly on photographs. Working with Amy was unusual in another way as well. As an artist (and also just as someone with generally strong opinions), she had a fairly definite idea of what she wanted to accomplish. My challenge:  Making everything fit together in a way that honors the owner’s artistic, quirky vision, while still resulting in a garden that is cohesive and practical.

Here are four tips that work to minimze the cramped, bowling alley feel in any narrow garden.

Despite the deceptively spacious feel of the garden in plan view, at its narrowest point it is only 7' wide. Instead of a path running straight down the center, vary the width of the planting beds on either side to add some visual variety, and have pathways merge seamlessly with patio space - don't use a different material. Be practical, however, and avoid the temptation to make the walkway too small. At only 2’ wide, the original path was too narrow for wheelbarrows and other garden equipment and actually made the garden feel smaller. The new one is 3’ wide at its narrowest point.

 

A chair set at an angle (which can be easily pushed against the wall when more access is required) breaks up the rigid geometry on one side, as does the checkerboard pattern of the corner planting bed on the other side.

 

Mix in circular or unusually shaped containers to act as a counterpoint to the rectangular pathways and raised beds.

 

 

Draw the eye up by taking advantage of wall space. A mix of vertical planters, vintage windows and artistic touches turn an ordinary fence into an art gallery. Varying the height of containers also creates vertical interest. This shows the original drawing I made to help Amy with container and art arrangement, and the final result.

I'll be sharing more photos and design lessons from Amy's garden as part of my small space design presentation at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show on February 20 and the Boise Flower and Garden Show on March 22 and 23. Hope to see some of you there!

 

Wordless Wednesday: Marcia Donahue's Garden

 Recently I had the opportunity to visit Marcia Donahue's amazing Berkeley garden during the Garden Conservancy's Open Day tour. But you don't have to wait until the next one, because Marcia generously opens her Garden of Earthly Delights and gallery every Sunday from 1-5.

My one minute highlight reel:

 

If you'd rather linger, here's the gallery.

And if you want more photos and a thorough analysis of Marcia's vertical garden style, visit this Fine Gardening post by Billy Goodnick. Since its Wordless Wednesday, I'm letting someone else do the heavy lifting.

Fearless Color - Keeyla Meadows Garden

I confess to skipping more local garden tours than I attend. So many feature newly-installed McMansion gardens, heavy on the high-end hardscape - think oversized outdoor kitchens that look like no one has ever eaten in them, let alone prepared a meal - and endless stretches of uninspiring, pristine lawn. But when I read that this year’s Garden Conservancy Open Days Tour in the East Bay included several of my longtime, wish-list gardens, I realized this particular tour was not to be missed.

 Keeyla Meadows' garden was my first stop of the day. I’ve blogged about the well known designer, author and sculptor before, whose most recent book Fearless Color Gardens: The Creative Gardener's Guide to Jumping Off the Color Wheel pushes the boundary on color in the garden. Many garden designers emphasize foliage color and texture over flowers, and limit bright colors to a few containers or the occasional focal point wall. Cheekily thumbing its nose at such restraint, Keeyla’s garden celebrates color with an exuberant ferocity that makes a visit there a one-of-a-kind experience.

Walls in a range of colors form the backdrop for her custom containers,

 

art work,

 

and of course, flowers..or edibles like this artichoke that's been allowed to flower.

 

But spend too much time looking around, and you’ll miss the riot of color, shapes and textures on the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

Playfully painted and bejeweled seating is tucked throughout the garden.

 

How perfect is the contrast provided from the loropetalum peaking around the corner?

 

A corner is transformed into a colorful nook.

 

For those of you with small gardens like mine who complain about lack of space, take a cue from Keeyla. Anything is fair game, including the roof of her design shed.

 

In addition to the walls, floors and rooftops, the plants themselves are not shy, adding plenty of garden color on their own. 

Hot plantings in shades of red, orange and pink are toned down with peachy hues,

earthtones,

 

and the occasional shot of cooling blue or lavender.

 

Shown here with Garden Conservancy volunteer and director of the new Sunset Western Garden Plant Collection Janet Sluis, Keeyla was a warm and gracious hostess, making all of us gushing tour-goers feel welcome. (If you’ve never met either of these charming ladies, Keeyla is the one on the right – her clothes and personality are every bit as colorful as her gardens.)

On a final note, my once daring purple wall seems pretty tame in comparison. Time to break out the paint cans! Stay tuned…