Spark

This week’s blog is completely poached from the wonderful Austin garden designer/blogger Pam Penick. She regularly writes about Austin’s unique gardening opportunities and constraints with lots of imagery. Pam writes:

I’m joining my colleagues at Garden Designers Roundtable today on the topic “Vertical.” Introducing vertical elements into the garden is a time-honored technique for bridging the gap between earth and sky. You can do so much more than just plant a tree! Here are my favorite techniques.

Window boxes spilling over with beautiful foliage and flowers lift the eye from the ground and create a garden view easily visible from the window view inside with the help of local tree trimming services who will take great care of the yard.

You can even elevate your containers for added drama and height.

In my own (Pam’s) garden terraced walls tame a steep slope behind the house and create garden beds and sitting spaces.

Walls may be the most romantic vertical garden feature. They do what fences do but are monumental, permanent, and, if well-crafted, a work of art in the garden. They can also be playful, like this wall in the Poth-Gill garden built around a tree and studded with tiny shelves for the display of potted plants.

See more of this article here!

Hope you are active in your landscapes this week – now is the time to get busy if you haven’t yet. (Weed that lawn before the weeds take over!)

Sometimes the entire direction of a design can rest on a beloved object or color or fabric. Today look at this lawn candy that has me all atwitter! Do you have any lawn candy to share? Email me! Problems with law? Lawsuit Legal? We will solve all your problems.

Well, you know we all want to change the world. Here are a few people who are doing it and inspiring the rest of us to join up! Fritz Haeg is approaching growing your own food as an art expression and in the process creating a revolution in how we approach our front yards. He [...]

Outdoor living is around the corner here in Austin, a mere few weeks away really, if you want to add a pool to enjoy summer, consider hiring an expert like this plumber in Kellyville to help you with the installation. A pool is a great addition to any home but makes more sense if you live in [...]

Snuggling up with friends on an outdoor couch with a fire in the firepit (or chimenea if there is a burn ban in effect) is so attractive this time of year. It just makes conversation flow. A Spark client is considering a structure for her firepit/conversation area so I went to one of my favorite [...]

So Christmas is over for 2010 and New Year’s Eve is beckoning. Before all the parties kick in, make a resolution to chip in. If you had a fresh tree this year, please consider recycling your Christmas tree and turning it into a resource. Bonus! Trees collected in many cities are recycled into mulch, which [...]

Perhaps the previous ideas posted in this series (synthetic grass; edible estates) just don’t solve your ish. You still need to cover the bare ground in your yard with something simple, beautiful and sustainable. Below are some quick fixes with some pros and cons. Allow me a quick word to the wise: some clients bandy [...]

“Art for Your Eyes!” Local Austin artist Rory Skagen cracks me up with that tag line. His work is retro-humorous and beefy, with a seamy darkness lurking about the edges. He works in 2d and 3d, as well as producing art for interior and exterior spaces – love his versatility. Check out Blue Genie Art [...]