No garden has ever thrilled me more than the O'Byrne garden.
The careful plant selection of textures and foliage combinations become tapestries, at first glance haphazard but intricately composed. It is a joyful place full of whimsy and surprise, yet...
This is magical:
A log to sit on and contemplate the changing season, a place to breathe deep and exhale exultant.
The clean air and sweet light of autumn is a tonic for the noise that surrounds too much of life...
Do we really want drought tolerant plants for our gardens ? Let's look for climate tolerant plants.
All plants are drought tolerant in their native habitat and no plant can live without water.
No matter where a garden is located, anywhere...
The new book is well underway. A new book ?!
The Summer-Dry Garden (Timber Press 2019) will update and replace Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates of the San Francisco Bay Area, the award winning book published by East Bay Municipal...
Sunnylands is a conference Center and gardens near Palm Springs, California.
It was established by Walter and Leanore Annenberg to "address serious issues facing the nation and the world community" and has been a meeting site for Presidents, corporate executives,...
I have been visiting Leaning Pine Arboretum for years, and it has become one of my favorite gardens.
For a California garden photographer, seeking landscape settings for mature, appropriate plants adapted to the summer-dry climate, Leaning Pine is near perfect....
The California landscape has always been shaped by fire.
Now two months after the firestorms in Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma Counties, we begin to see the landscape recovering. With a few inches of blessed rain since the fires, the annual...
When I first met Ruth Bancroft in 1992, she was already 86.
Rounding the corner on an early morning photo shoot in her garden I saw her bending over a gravel path looking for something. I asked her if I...
The devastating Northern California firestorm that swept through Napa and Sonoma Counties in October left a scorched earth.
The Tubb's Fire that destroyed thousands of homes in Santa Rosa, began in Calistoga and on its rapid advance through the hills...
The Denver Botanic Garden gets better every time I visit.
There are new buildings, like the Science Pyramid pictured above, at the end of a marvelous walk and water feature called the El Pomar Waterway.
There are new gardens like the...
