Petite Garden Retreats

Petite Garden Retreats's cover photo

After a month of 90+ temperatures, water restrictions and taxing heat, we are so grateful for the July rain! This reminds us that our irrigation systems are just meant to be a supplement to natural precipitation. Talk to me today about converting your landscape to drought-tolerant native plantings!

2011 April 05 — Garden Gate e-notes

Love your pets, but frustrated by damage to your garden? Check out these 6 tips to help Fido and your favorite rose co-exist...

gardengatenotes.com Pets bring humor, joy and friendship to any home. But their favorite activities (running, digging and scratching) can be the end of your garden. Is there any way to co-exist?

Introduction to Raised Bed Gardening

Home vegetable gardening is again gaining popularity - with our Texas clay soil, I recommend raised bed gardening to create the optimum soil composition, check out this great video from Burpee Seeds for more information...

burpee.com Introduction to Raised Bed Gardening

Fighting spring w**ds popping up in your beds? Now is the perfect time to prep your beds for the summer. Pull all w**ds by hand or with a garden hoe, apply a uniform layer of a granular pre-emergent w**d control like Preen and then top dress the bed with 2-3" of mulch. Sit back and enjoy a much easier summer:)

My interpretation for a new client of a 'mountain retreat'

Happy 1st day of Spring!

Welcome to SmartScape Texas

Check out the Texas Smartscape website, a great resource for those interested in water conservation and native plantings...

txsmartscape.com Texas SmartScape® is an interactive how-to-guide that teaches concepts of landscaping with native and adapted plants. This program will show you how to conserve water, protect the environment, and beautify your home.

Formal Country Estate

In speaking with local growers, last month's freezing temperatures really slowed the growth of annual flowers, most are projecting that spring impatiens and begonias will not be blooming and ready for planting until mid-April. If you need flowers sooner, consider petunias, but you will need to be cover them with an old sheet if a frost is forecast.

Thinking of planting new trees or shrubs in your garden? March is an excellent time to plant; there will be plenty of time for the root system to establish before the heat of our summers. Don't forget to check your soil quality - do you need to add some organic material like compost before planting to break up the clay?

In that Master Gardener class, one of the sessions was about career options in the landscape field and a light bulb went off. I had gone to school for Fine Art, but gardened since I was a child - landscape design was the perfect marriage of both and the rest is history..

Recently, I've been asked how I got into the landscape design business. As a homeowner about 10 years ago, I loved gardening but didn't feel confident in my knowledge - so I signed up for a Master Gardener course (great organization by the way)

Spring is the best time to work with a designer on a plan for your dream landscape - reach out to me at [email protected] to schedule a time to discuss your needs...