By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine

In the course of a garden remodel for Sherry Burke of Bainbridge Island, WA, designer Susan Calhoun (Plantswoman Design) built a wonderful vegetable-cleaning station that keeps dirt in the garden and out of the house.

It comes in two parts.

The heart of the system is a cleaning table complete with sink and cold-water supply. The sink was a freebee Sherry picked up by the road (and Kohler, no less). Susan made an opening in the tabletop for the sink and installed a rudimentary drain pipe that channels rinse water back into the garden.

Clean water comes through a self-coiling hose that's fed by a ground-level hose bib under the table. Sherry uses the shower setting on an adjustable hose nozzle for the rinse, and lets washed veggies drain in a collander before she takes them indoors for the table. When she's done, she hangs the hose hang from a hook next to the sink.

The small compost bin on the left side of the table holds the wilted leaves, split fruit, and carrot tops that inevitably come with the harvest.

The vegetable garden itself grows in galvanized stock tanks (below) that keep the crops elevated, where they're easy to plant, tend and harvest. Herbs grow in the ground around the stock tanks.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

I try not to look at Dirt Couture, the retail portion of Cindy McNatt's garden blog, Dirt Du Jour, because--between Coldwater Creek and Chico on-line sales--I have enough temptations as it is.

But, visiting her garden recently and seeing some of her products first hand, I got curious about what her best sellers might be.

Turns out Hose Clothes, which you might describe as tights for the common garden hose and which turn a utilitarian item into garden decor, are her top seller.  Especially in this leopard version.

Guess gals just can't get enough of animal prints.

And her best customers?  Germans.  Not sure why that surprises and tickles me but it does.

Air Head, a foliar feeder designed for tillandsia, is another customer favorite.

Tillandsias are such easy plants, says, McNatt, people forget they do need some care.  Soak them in water at least once a month, mist once a week and feed them with this mist-form fertilizer every other week, and they'll stay healthy and happy, she promises.

Here's another best seller.  When a friend complained about having to buy a 50-lb. bag of cement just to make one  hypertufa trough, McNatt saw a marketing opportunity.

Premix the hypertufa ingredients and sell in a size just right for one larger container or a couple of small ones.  Just add water and you're ready to sculpt.

Her mix also includes some colorant, which is a nice touch.

And the artisan-made concrete bowl below?  A little too pricey to be one of her best sellers most likely. But, maybe, why I've been wise to stay off Dirt Couture until now.  Tempting, very tempting.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

I wrote about the combination watering hole/bird bath Cindy McNatt (of the garden blog Dirt Du Jour) created in her own yard and about what a successful bird magnet it turned out to be in my last post.

Here's another way to achieve the same thing.

This fountain is outside my home office window.  Water comes up through the center of the urn and spills back into the basin below.  The urn is filled up to the top with river rocks so birds can land on the top for a drink or to take a bath, and they do both. 

Like Cindy McNatt's ground-level fountain, mine was a success, too, from the day the reservoir was filled and the water started circulating.  Hummingbirds were the first to show up, followed shortly thereafter  by sparrows and finches. 

As Cindy mentioned, the big payoff, though, is migration periods.  To see something like a Western tanager land on that rim, so close to my window, will, I hope, never fail to excite me.

Hot Santa Ana days, though, can be almost as thrilling.  The urn isn't big enough for crows to land there comfortably normally, but when they're thirsty, the wily creatures manage it, though awkwardly.  And hawks drop in sometimes, too.  Now that's a sight that will make your heart stop.

Really and truly, if you want more birds in your yard, forget food.  Give them fresh water.  They'll come.

P.S.  Remembering crows reminded me of Jim's post about crows and math, still one of my favorites of his.  Check it out.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

photo by Cindy McNatt

Bird feeders will attract avian visitors to your garden, for sure.  But providing a constant supply of fresh water works even better, as garden blogger Cindy McNatt (Dirt Du Jour) will attest.

Above is a water park for birds McNatt created at her home in Tustin, California.  When she moved in this highly visible spot was filled with a mound of dirt composed of the decomposing roots of a recently removed monster ficus tree.  Cindy hauled away tons of dirt and created this bird fountain.

Three vintage stepping stones found buried on her property form the heart of it. They rest on cinder blocks. Below is a reservoir contained by a pool liner and a pump in a low hole filled with gravel.  The pump runs constantly to keep water fresh the way birds like it.  (Keeps mosquitoes from breeeding, too.)  The reservoir is topped off daily with water from the sprinkler set-up.

The combination fountain/bird bath works even better than Cindy hoped.  Hummingbirds, sparrows, and other regulars show up daily.  But migration seasons are when the fountain really proves its worth.  "Cedar waxwings, warblers, tanagers, vireos, grosbeaks, lazuli buntings, and other migrating birds show up and hang around for a week or more," she says.  "It's thrilling to look out and catch those flashes of color."

See this previous post for another glimpse of Cindy's garden

By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine

Photos by Roger Miller, Homescaper Garden Photography

Looking at Frances Barnes' garden in Portland, Oregon, I'm struck at the part hardscape plays in a garden's design. This hillside garden needed a lot of it, if only to terrace this formerly weed-covered hill.

The project actually started when Barnes planned a major addition behind her classic 80-year-old house. She realized that the resulting walls would make it impossible to get heavy equipment back there after construction, so all major landscape work had to be done before construction.

Designers Anne Marsh & Gary Fear (Marsh Fear Garden Solutions) went above and beyond what was required, installing a gorgeous water feature (below), patio (above), and terraces for edible and ornamental plants.

Outdoor furniture, trellises, fences, and gates complete the package.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

 I caught up with fellow garden blogger, Cindy McNatt (Dirt Du Jour), last week at her own garden in Tustin.  I found much to like there, but this quiet spot may have been my favorite.

An inviting bench under the shade of an apricot tree with this object in dappled shade to hold my attention and encourage me to linger.

Just a large fish bowl filled with clear water with a few water lettuce floating on top. 

What could be easier?  Or more pleasing.

What to copy the idea?  Cindy makes it easy.  You can buy water lettuce plants from the retail section of her blog, Dirt Couture.  The plants are harvested from her own garden.

Cindy also likes to use water lettuce as a houseplant. Sometimes she places several plants in a large glass salad bowl.  Other times just one in a tall glass cylinder. 

"Water lettuce is an entertaining houseplant," says Cindy.  "The roots look beautiful when the lights hit them."  Indeed.  Below photos are Cindy's.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Dropped into Roger's Gardens last weekend to get into a fall mood.  It worked.  The nursery was already stocked in full celebration of the season. 

But where were the customers?  The parking lot was full but I seemed to be the only one strolling among the plants.

Turns out everyone else was inside scaring themselves silly over Roger's amazing assortment of Halloween-themed merchandise.

Whether you plan to decorate your house and yard for Halloween or not, drop in for a look if you live in the area.  Or check out the nursery's Blackstone Theater Halloween Video on their website.  The setting they've created is quite a production.

Me, I'm probably just going to settle for a collection of these wonderfully gloomy pumpkins.

And maybe, if I'm feeling flush, I'll add this deliciously morbid wreath.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Would you like more information about using native grasses in the landscape to reduce irrigation needs, prevent erosion, and enhance wildlife habit?  If so, you might be interested in the workshops the California Native Grasslands Association is holding on September 29th at Fallbrook, CA and on September 30th in Arcadia,CA.  The all-day workshop is open to both professionals and homeowners.   There is more information on the CNGA website and you can register there as well. 

Need a landscape designer but don't know any?  Monrovia can help.  The wholesale grower has added a new feature on its website to help homeowners and landscape professionals connect. 

Enter your zip code, narrow the search by choosing a style (Contemporary or Cottage, for instance) or an expertise (edibles, meadows) and a list of professionals comes up with links to their websites.  Pretty handy.  Click here for a trial run.

Wish you could visit the gardens of some of your favorite garden bloggers?  I have.  Rueben Munoz of the Rancho Reubidoux blog is high on my list.  The below photo, shot by TK, shows why.  I love the way Rueben makes arid look stylish. 

Photo by Mitchel Maher

Maher shot more of Reuben's garden and turned the results into a cool video.  Click here to take a look.

While you're on Reuben's site, read about this wonderfully shaggy living wall he saw at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Los Angeles.  More about it here.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Photos by Lori Brookes

When Dick and Shirley Johnson asked San Diego landscape designer Kendra Berger to revamp their Pacific Beach front yard they asked for a low-maintenance design, seating areas that would allow them to actually use the space, and a fence to keep young grandchildren safely corralled.  They got all that.

Plus something they didn't expect--people who might have driven by a hundred times before suddenly noticing the house for the first time.  "People are always stopping their cars to tell us how much they like the house, which is amusing because other than changing the trim color (Kendra's suggestion), we haven't altered a thing," says Shirley.  "We just finally have a landscape that compliments it."

I think it's the multi-level deck of Brazilian hardwood that does it.  (It's FSC Certified Mangaris Diamond with a UV finish to help preserve the rich color.)  Besides providing a primary seating area near the house and a lower level where you can bring in more chairs as needed, it's like an arrow directing your eye straight to the house.  And especially to that gorgeous rock wall.

All that beautiful wood plus the cabinetry-like detailing made me feel like I was stepping onto a well-crafted boat.  Nice sensation.

The boardwalk meandering away from the deck leads to a second seating area where Adirondack chairs nestle up to a small faux firepit.  Driftwood, mini sand-dunes, and sea pebbles add to the beachy illusion. (This must appeal immensely to their grandchildren.)

"We have coffee out here in the morning, talk to neighbors who stop and chat, and have a comfortable place for our grandkids to play," says Shirley.  "It's better than a room addition."

Another friendly front yard redesign by Kendra Berger

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Been meaning to get to Dustin Gimbel's garden in Long Beach for months and finally made it this week.  Dustin, owner of Second Nature Garden Design, always has tons of intriguing ideas and often tries them out in his own garden first.  This "lawn chair" -- a tall, wide container cushioned with variegated St. Augustine grass -- was my favorite.

Visitors, he tells me, find it irresistible.  On this occasion, they were three fellow garden designers; left to right, Chris Oakley, Brooke Dietrich, and Julie Garland.

Two more views of the chair.  This is Dustin, being contemplative.  And the chair without an occupant, a rare occasion apparently.

Similar idea, grass ottoman

Similar idea requiring no water

To see what else Dustin is up to, check out his blog