Creating a garden that fits together—one that makes sense and works as a whole—is like a jigsaw puzzle, a word jumble, or really any puzzle that challenges us to create order from chaos. Our puzzle is further complicated by the fact that we're working in four dimensions, if we take the seasonal aspect of our creation into consideration. Though as the pieces, or in our case plants, start falling into place, the overall scene starts shaping up. It begins to make more sense and everything gets a bit easier. But getting started can feel daunting. ..

The current trend toward simpler, tidier gardens points toward using a more restricted palette of plants. While landing on a small number of plants to use in your garden can be an effective means of achieving a cohesive whole, simplicity is not necessarily simple to achieve. But there are at least three good reasons to consider limiting yourself in this way when creating your garden.  ..

Trees with attractive bark add so much to the winter garden. If a tree can pull its weight in the dead of winter, it has a lot going for it and that alone can be plenty of reason to plant it. But the plants I'm showcasing below are more than a one-season-winter-wonder. In addition to a strong showing in other seasons by providing bloom, fall color, or drought tolerance (see individual notes below), I've selected these for their suitability for smaller gardens by virtue of their dwarf stature or relatively slow growth.  ..

I've moved a lot of large plants in my garden over the last year. In doing so, I figured that most would take the disruption in stride and not skip a beat. And most actually did. But now with the glimmer of a new season on the horizon, I'm beginning to see signs of trouble on a few that are signaling how they'll fare.  ..

The most engaging planting combinations are able to strike a delicate balance between having enough different-ness to capture our attention versus enough same-ness to hold the scene together. When considering the extremes, we can easily see how too much variety can feel jarring and chaotic, and how too much sameness can lead us down a path to ho-hum. Just like Goldilocks, we're striving for "just right" — and even then, there's an enormous range of possibilities, so it can be helpful to know what kind of feeling or mood you're trying to evoke. ..

Happy New Year! 2018 is just about a wrap and I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a part of it. You're the reason for eGardenGo—I appreciate you being a part of this community of gardens and look forward to our continued growth together!  ..

I love slow-growing, dwarf conifers and find them especially valuable when choosing plants for small gardens where every plant needs to earn its keep—their compact size and year-round good looks consistently earn them a place in my designs. ..

Taking the time to freshen the container plantings at your front entry will reward you all winter long and brighten your spirits every time you come home. Likewise, a window box planting can bring the outdoors in, where you can enjoy a foliage-rich scene from the cozy interior. ..

Autumn is the perfect time to step back, assess your garden's performance, and make plans for what you'll tackle next. While there's much to learn from observing what's working well and plants that are thriving, it's equally useful to learn from what's not. So it's a great time to take note, especially of those plants that are struggling and/or not performing as well as you'd hoped. ..

Unless you’re a heckuva lot tougher than me, working outdoors during a bout of extreme weather—whether it's blistering heat, bone-chilling cold, or torrential rain—has less appeal.  ..

"Garden" may be a verb, but nothing says you have to be in a hurry! ..

I've had a blast sharing my presentation, Beyond Pinterest—Unlock the Secrets Behind the Pretty Picture, with audiences around the Northwest for the last six months. The reception has been super-enthusiastic and I've been thrilled to have attendees tell me that it's been really helpful to them.  ..