In early 2005, Cool Springs Press published the Washington & Oregon Gardener’s Guide, a book I co-authored with the wise and gifted garden writer Mary Robson. We combined our talents to share years of garden experience to help readers plan, plant, and maintain a beautiful and healthy garden.

The book is filled with our personal recommendations of plants that thrive in the Northwest, presented in a concise, helpful format. The major challenge of writing WOGG, as we called it, was to limit ourselves to 186 individual plant selections, from annuals to vines. No gardener wants to be told she has to “choose” a finite plant list!

Our fabulous publicist, Lola Honeybone, who now runs Media Workshop, a Nashville-based book PR shop, suggested that Mary (shown at left) and I develop a lecture to accompany our book-signings and appearances. She dreamed up the title “Seven Habits of a Highly Successful Gardener.” Lola’s clever angle brought Mary and me together for a 2005 lecture at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show in Seattle. It was so much fun to plan this talk knowing Mary and I would have a friendly give-and-take as we walked the audience through our Seven Tips.

Later, our friend Richard Turner, editor of Pacific Horticulture, asked us to turn the lecture into an article. Here is the article, from the journal’s Winter 2006 issue. It seems appropriate to share this as we approach 2009 – and I encourage you to adapt these tips for your own New Year in the Garden:

Seven Habits of a Highly Successful Gardener

Gardeners in the west enjoy the unique luxury of living with few rules about what’s right or wrong in the way we grow our plants. We appreciate and adapt to our garden’s cultural conditions. We are overwhelmed with a seemingly endless selection of excellent, healthy and suitable trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, vines, bulbs and ground covers from which to choose for our landscapes.

In the Pacific Northwest [my former home], we’re particularly lucky to have temperate conditions where it’s not too hot – and not too cold. This welcoming, plant-friendly climate bestows added blessings. Imagine how hard it was for us to compile a regional gardening book and limit ourselves to only 186 great plants!

Perhaps the horticultural excesses in our lives call for a little discipline. Certainly, we want to be good stewards of our gardens, both to ensure our immediate enjoyment and the long-term health of the plants and places we tend.

So, with apologies to the original “7 Habits” author Steven R. Covey, we offer the following Seven Habits of a Highly Successful Gardener:

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Those of us who attended the September 2008 Garden Writers Association annual symposium in Portland were in for a big treat when we boarded the coach buses (seven or eight in all) and took a ride to Boring, Oregon, home of Iseli Nursery.

We were introduced to a world of ornamental conifers, in every shape and size. Even though Washington is called the “Evergreen State,” in the nursery trade, it seems, the folks in Oregon claim the title. 

Iseli Nursery grows all sorts of amazing woody plant specimens – trees, shrubs and more. They sent us home with a gift bag packed with five delightful little conifer specimens – perfect for a container planting, rock garden or tablescape. You can see the incredible variety in Iseli’s “Fanciful Gardens” collection depicted above (including some dwarf broadleaf evergreens in the front row). My photos, from left: A colorful “knot garden” of mostly dwarf conifers mixed with barberry, Iseli entrance; tiny, just-propagated woody cuttings of mugo pine.

The next day, I found myself sitting on yet another the bus ride/garden tour with with Sandy Dittmar, a horticulturist at Iseli. We talked about how many gardeners are only now discovering conifers, and how dwarf conifers are so versatile for smaller landscapes. She planted a seed of insight and got me thinking.

So when I saw my local Trader Joe’s stocked with miniature Leyland cypress and Lawson cypress (we’re talking 4-inch pots for $4.29 or so), I called Sandy and said: Remember when we talked about dwarf conifers? Are those Trader Joe’s mini-trees yours?

It turns out, the tiny live trees in shiny pots are supplied by BloomRite Nursery, a wholesale grower in Half Moon Bay, California. But Iseli’s tiny Alberta spruces, mugo pines, and blue-star junipers, and countless other dwarf conifers are showing up in specialty nurseries and retail florists around the country. Cute, they are. Versatile, too. And perfect for a scaled-back Christmas!

In this cost-conscious holiday season, it was a fitting “tiny tree story” for the Los Angeles Times’  Home section, page F2 (December 13th).

Here is the piece I wrote under the “Seen” heading, in its entirety:

A pint-sized forest at home

Looking for evergreen decor – something that can last long past Christmas? Turn tiny potted conifers into a miniature forest across a fireplace mantle, or create a tabletop landscape with dwarf pines. Tiny trees are “a cheap luxury,” says Lisa Tsui, a product manager at BloomRite, a wholesale grower in Half Moon Bay, Calif., that supplies potted pines and Leyland cypress to Trader Joe’s. “In this economic environment, people are using them to supplement decorations they already have,” she says.

Iseli Nursery in Boring, Ore., ships tens of thousands of dwarf conifers to garden centers during the holidays. Even though some customers treat the evergreens as throwaway décor, they can be transplanted in the garden or an outdoor container, Iseli sales manager Jock Demme says. The challenge is to keep the plants alive indoors. “The home setting has drier and warmer air than these plants require,” he says. “I suggest submerging the pot in a larger container of water and soaking the roots every day.” The trees at Trader Joe’s sell for $4.29 to $5.99 each; you’ll find variations for $9.95 at the Empty Vase in West Hollywood, (310) 278-1988, www.emptyvase.com. Also try Red Envelope, (877) 733-3683, www.redenvelope.com.

Here’s a little gallery of dwarf and miniature tree photographs, shared by Iseli and Nurserymen’s Exchange (which is the company behind BloomRite).

My bougainvillea’s lipstick-pink bracts look almost iridescent in Southern California’s December sunshine

Dateline: Thousand Oaks, California

USDA Zone: 10

The journalist-observer in me couldn’t help but notice that when the 15th of each month rolled around, many of my favorite fellow bloggers wrote about this phenom called “Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.” They even included images of that day’s blooms in their own garden.

The instigator behind this movement is Carol of May Dreams Gardens, and somehow I thought I had to be invited by that select inner circle of garden bloggers to participate. Kathy Purdy of Cold Climate Gardening recently set me straight on that assumption and assured me that all I have to do is post photos of my flowers. She sent me an email with “No Rules for Bloom Day” in the subject line and a link to May Dreams Gardens with the “rules,” of which there really are none:

All you need to do to participate in Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is post about what is blooming in your garden on the 15th of the month, or thereabouts, depending on your personal schedule. Then leave a comment on my bloom day post so we can find your blog and check out what is blooming in your garden.

I sort of cheated because I took these photos yesterday, Dec. 14th. I’m glad I did, though because today, Dec. 15th, we experienced a rare occurrence: RAINFALL. Don’t worry – I managed to spend plenty of time outside soaking up the raindrops while letting my dog, Zanny, run around and play catch with her favorite (now muddy) yellow tennis ball. It was a glorious day and everything is refreshed – in the garden and in our spirits. All the air pollution and dust has been washed off of the foliage and the soil looks wet and dark brown. We’ll see how long that lasts!

Here’s what I have to contribute:

Bougainvillea, seen here and above. It was inherited from the previous owner when we moved here in 2006. The first time I really noticed a bougainvillea was in 1999, when my sweet husband took me to Palm Springs for a surprise 40th birthday weekend. We were staying at the former Merv Griffin Resort and Givenchy Spa (how mid-century!) and there was an entire wall covered with the raspberry-colored display of bougainvillea. Little did I know then that I’d live in Southern California some day and actually have one in my garden. I’m trying to train it up to the the patio-covering arbor.

Scabiosa atropurpurea ‘Black’, also called pincushion flower – and also called ‘Ace of Spades’. This perennial (for me) has a delicious, dark-plum bloom. It’s a favorite of butterflies because they can use it as a landing pad while doing their thing. I purchased this plant in 2007 on a “garden gals’ field trip” to Annie’s Annuals (we actually took a road trip from SoCal to the Bay Area for the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show and Annie’s was a side trip). The scabiosa thrives and re-blooms so often I can’t keep up with the job of cutting back the old growth. So pretty as a cut flower, especially when combined with anything chartreuse.

Mystery rose, another “gift” from the former owner of our property.

I really like the delicate form of its single flowers, the crimson petals and the yellow centers. This rose, which is taller than me, has thrived despite little or no water in the area outside my dining room window. I have plans to renovate this bed, but first I have to hand-dig and remove the red lava rock “mulch” out of the bed, which may explain why this to-do remains on my list!

Echeveria hybrid in bloom. This is a close-up of the beautiful, costume-jewelry-like flowers, the stem of which emerges from the center of an echeveria. I have a wonderful display of echeverias, crassulas, sedums and other succulents in my kids’ old red wagon. It was once planted with spring bulbs or summer annuals (back in Seattle), but here, it is a perfect, low-maintenance container for a wagon-full of succulents. According to Lorraine Schulz and Attila Kapitany in “Echeveria Cultivars” (Schulz Publishing, Australia) the cut blooms of echeverias alway outlast more conventional flowers when brought indoors for an arrangement.

Well, that was fun! I’m happy I could join the Bloom Day party!

The subtitle to this post should be “Haste makes waste.”

But before I tell you my woeful tale of rushing a gardening project and living to regret it, I will tip you off to a wonderful product that helps non-carpenter types like me build raised beds for backyard vegetable gardening.

Gardener’s Supply has designed and fabricated a very cool piece of hardware – a corner bracket – that allows you to build a raised bed rather simply, with sections of lumber. Having previously built wobbly raised beds with L-shaped brackets screwed inside two 2-by-10s at a 90-degree angle, I think this Gardener’s Supply solution is far superior (see corner bracket, left).

All you need are four powder-coated, aluminum corner brackets. Slip the boards into the fitted sections of each bracket and secure them with Philips screws inserted in the pre-drilled holes.

There are also side brackets that allow you to extend the raised bed from 4-feet to 8-feet long.  And not to sound too Xenophobic, but – hurrah! – these brackets are made in Vermont by Gardener’s Supply. It really is nice to know that something is still manufactured in the U.S. of A. these days.

So, to create one 4-by-8 foot raised bed, you need the following:

• 4 pieces of 2-by-10 lumber measuring 8 feet long
• 3 pieces of 2-by-10 lumber measuring 4 feet long
• 4 corner brackets from Gardener’s Supply
• 2 side brackets from Gardener’s Supply

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The month of November seems to generate an abundance of magazine articles about being “thankful.” For many of us, the notion of giving thanks is top of mind this season. Not only am I hugely grateful for my family, friends, home, garden and writing career, I’m so often reminded how rare these gifts truly are.

When it was time to write my “In the Garden” column for the November issue of my local magazine, 805 Living, my editor Lynne Andujar mentioned choosing Volunteerism as the month’s theme. You can see how nicely this idea is communicated on the cover, which reads: “Give Thanks, Give Back.”

The assignment made me think of Master Gardeners, some of the most volunteer-minded souls in the gardening world. I first learned about the MG program in the early 1990s, when my friend Jean Zaputil trained as a Master Gardener in King County, the local Seattle area program. I was always so impressed that Jean did this, especially when she managed the herb department for the local MG plant sales. That experience, combined with her BFA in Interior Design, soon led Jean to start her successful landscape design business.

Wanting to expand my own horticultural knowledge about the time I was trying to switch from business writing to home and garden feature writing, I applied to enroll in the 1998 Master Gardener class (also in King County). I spent many enjoyable years actively involved with the organization, including three years as PR chair for our annual plant sale.

When I moved to Southern California, I thought I’d re-apply and get in on the excellent training that comes directly from local horticultural experts. That’s when I discovered the Ventura County MGs require trainees to volunteer (“give back”) 80 hours of community service in their first year. The math just didn’t add up for me, at least at this time in my life. But the application and interview process introduced me to my local MG group, and piqued my interest in learning more.

What better way to get to know the Master Gardeners in my own back yard than by writing about them? (I always say that “I write in order to learn,” so it makes sense!).

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An early morning scene outside the guest room window at Mary-Kate Mackey’s in Eugene

October in Oregon – you can’t beat it. Earlier this month, I traveled there to lecture to the Hardy Plant Group of Willamette Valley.

Returning to my beloved roots, in the Pacific Northwest, was such a treat, especially since it is still wickedly hot down here in LA and I am desperate for some moist, cool autumnal weather.

And oh, the gardens!

Mary-Kate Mackey, fellow garden writer and a gifted journalism educator, met me at the airport. It was fun to fly into this sleek, modern, small airport and arrive via Horizon Airlines (they serve complimentary Pacific Northwest ale on board and, oh, by the way, one of my articles appears in the October issue of Horizon/Alaska’s in-flight magazine, so I was able to grab lots of extra copies from the seat-pocket in front of me, etc.!).

Upon disembarking in Eugene, I was impressed by the changing autumn light and saturated foliage palette. Oh, it’s autumn in Oregon! It took away my breath and captured my heart.

The evening began with drinks at a nifty bistro with Mary-Kate, followed by dinner with my dear friend Jennifer (we were editors together at “Seattle Woman” magazine in the 80s).

On Tuesday, after a restful overnight in Jenny and her husband Tim’s comfortable home, I met up again with Mary-Kate.

Since I missed out on the one-day garden tour in Eugene that followed last month’s Garden Writers Association’s annual symposium, I had a special request for Mary-Kate: Can I have my own mini-tour of the best of the best Eugene has to offer? [Above: Mary-Kate inspects the craftsmanship of a stunning stone wall hand-built by Allen Bosworth (right) of Bosworth Landscaping.]

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I have my father to thank for my two-day trip to Modesto earlier this week. That’s because a year ago, as my folks were driving from Seattle to Phoenix, they stayed overnight at the home of Sue and Jerry Houser in Modesto, California. Like my parents, the Housers belonged to an informal bed-and-breakfast club. You pay some kind of nominal fee to join and receive a directory of hosts who will give you a room for the night, plus breakfast. My affable dad was seated in Sue Houser’s family room and he noticed all her gardening books and magazines. “My daughter writes about gardens,” he offered.

Turns out, Sue is the program chair for the Modesto Garden Club, one of the largest clubs I’ve ever encountered (it was founded 81 years ago and has more than 600 members)! How’s that for serendipity?

The next thing I know, Dad’s on the phone to me, introducing me to Sue. Several phone calls and emails later, she invited me to come speak to her club. That’s the two of us pictured above, standing in the foyer of the garden club’s beautiful office in a renovated cottage (seen at right).

I began my trip on Tuesday, driving to Bakersfield, which is 120 miles northbound on Interstate 5. I parked my car at the Amtrak station there and hopped the San Joaquin line (which begins in Bakersfield and continues to Sacramento or Oakland). I passed the 3-1/2 hour train trip quite pleasantly, looking out the window at the changing scenery, much of it agricultural (mostly corn fields and pecan orchards), napping, reading, and relaxing. My cell phone was turned off, ensuring that I really could “unplug” for a little while.

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Visting Bellingham and the Whatcom Horticultural Society

Bright and early on September 17th, I flew from Burbank, CA to Bellingham, WA (by way of Seattle and a 2-hour layover). I was pretty tired, having only four hours of sleep the night before, so I dozed a bit on the small Horizon Air jet that transported me from Seattle to B’ham in barely 25 minutes.

As the plane began to descend, I perked up and looked out the window to see – oh glory – Puget Sound, and several of its islands including Lummi Island. I was so happy (exhilarated, actually) to gaze upon the gray-blue palette of the water and islands, the scenery dotted witha few boats; the islands populated with cabins and summer cottages. What a “welcome home”!

My friend, Dawn Chaplin, garden designer and nurserywoman (seen with me above, in front of the Whatcom Museum), invited me to speak at the September meeting for the Whatcom Horticultural Society. I have a special place in my heart for this group, thanks to my friendship with the late Stephanie Feeney, who was one of the founding mothers of WHS. Stephanie, creator of the Northwest Gardener”s Resource Directory, originally started her garden touring “reference” (as a few photocopied pages stapled together at the corner), for her use and for her WHS friends. Upon her death in 2000, I inherited the editorship of her book and produced the 9th edition, still in print.

Dawn and her husband David met me at the airport and whisked me off on a whirlwind tour of Bellingham’s fantastic gardens and even a few magical “sheds” and shelters in the garden. In this misty, foggy maritime place on the map, people in Bellingham use color and art in very exciting ways. Here is a travelogue of our garden-filled afternoon:

Our tour kept gathering up friends and bringing them along. In front, from left: Dawn Chaplin, landscape designer Susann Schwiesow, and Laurie Satushek discussing plants in Susann’s glorious front border; In the back, Steve Satushek and David Chaplin.

SATUSHEK GARDEN

The wild and crazy landscape owned by Steve and Laurie Satushek

Photographer Steve Satushek and artist/teacher Laurie Satushek live and garden on about 8 acres overlooking the Nooksack River Delta and Bellingham Bay. They have transformed a nondescript ranch house and unkempt field into a colorful residence and equally brilliant landscape. Every surface of their residence is embellished with mosaics, mirrors, three-dimensional objects, and Steve’s oversize “outdoor” photographs — all rendered in a crayon box-inspired palette.

The informal but exuberant garden makes creative use of cobalt glass wine and water bottles (seen above, at left and below) and Steve’s cleverly-engineered and equally beautiful photography (he combines nature and botanical photographs with several innovative processes for weatherproofing oversize canvases). Together, the gallery-house and gallery-garden lure visitors to explore, observe, and fill their eyes with a surprising interpretation of art infused into every aspect of life.

More blue bottles: Here, they are mounted upside down on rebar posts. Staggered “rows” create a waist-high blue wall that lines the driveway. Citrus-cutouts of dancers add whimsical contrast.

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 I’m standing with Richard Turner, editor-in-chief of Pacific Horticulture magazine. We’re volunteering at the 2008 NWFGS in Seattle, visiting with Dawn Chaplin, formerly a fellow board member of Northwest Horticultural Society and a great garden-touring pal (she’s now a Whatcom Co. Hort. Society board member).

The press release just arrived in my in-box, and it announced the 2009 Northwest Flower & Garden Show’s theme. It’s only six months away – and I’m already excited! The theme: SUSTAINABLE SPACES. BEAUTIFUL PLACES. I like it! A lot!

The Northwest Flower & Garden Show, created by my pal, the talented and visionary Duane Kelly, today announced its 2009 theme:

“. . . (the) show will place a major focus on gardening materials and techniques that are good for the environment,” said Duane Kelly, chairman and founder of the annual event, now in its twenty-first year. “Show goers can expect to come away with a number of great ideas that conserve resources such as water and soil while, at the same time, making their gardens more self-sustaining and easier to care for.

“During the past year, organic gardening and vegetable gardening have grown in popularity thanks to the public’s keen interest in doing what’s best for the environment.  The movement has also gained traction with consumers seeking homegrown fruits and vegetables that not only taste better but reduce ever increasing grocery bills.”

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