By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine

Photos by Joni Shimabukuro

Floral designer Françoise Weeks has wanted to make botanical shoes for a couple of years. Thanks heaven she finally got around to it: the results are wonderful. 

But what do you do with them before they wilt? Well, Françoise had her friend Joni Shimabukuro photograph them, and the pair turned them into note cards that should delight anybody, either with or as a gift.

You can order for $15 per box (eight cards, two copies of each design) here.

If you like this sort of thing, Carolyn Schmitz puts a Southwestern spin on the same subject (not shown) in acrylics in cactus. Sharon Cohoon blogged it a couple of years ago.

By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine

Susan Calhoun packs her garden with plants, not because she's a plant geek (though she'd probably admit to a bit of that), but because she's a designer who only specifies plants that she's grown herself. The results are surprisingly pleasing, given the potential for conflict among so many kinds of plants.

To make this work, she starts with generous soil amendment at planting time, then a good mulch to keep weeds down, conserve water, and nourish plants. Apart from that, she never fertilizes—and after four years, the garden still looks great.

All-weather paths made with packed, quarter-minus gravel provide easy garden access all year long, and a beautiful stone staircase transforms one problematic, steep slope into an asset. Apart from some terracing, the garden's other most visible use of stone is around her koi pond, which has a bluestone entry path and surrounding deck.

A big fan of purple foliage, orange flowers, and every shade of green, Calhoun uses a remarkably large palette of plants that go well together.

Her garden is also constantly changing: when she sees an interesting new plant, she replaces or moves existing garden plants to make room for more experimentation.

The garden also has a gazebo at its lower end and a sitting area at the top, so there's plenty of room for relaxing, studying plants, and getting inspiration for her next great design.

Calhoun owns Plantswoman Design, based on Bainbridge Island, Washington (206 842-2453).

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

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 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

As I mentioned in a previous post, Descanso Gardens planned to install two giant "paintings" composed of plants at their new Sturt Haaga Gallery.

When I paid a visit while construction was still going on in late August it looked like they had an awful lot left to do to meet their deadline.  (The Gallery opens this Saturday, September 17.)

I wasn't sure they were going to make it.  Clearly they have.

A closer look (click on the image to make it bigger) so you can appreciate the textures.

For a preview of the Sturt Haaga Gallery's opening show -- an exhibition of Andrea Baldeck's black and white botanical photographs -- click here.

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

aerial photo by Scott Dressel-Martin

Above is the form the Corn Maze at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield will take this year.  The 8-acre!! cornfield pattern was inspired by the Exhibition, Native Roots/Modern Form, which is a tribute to the sculptor Allan Houser, whose pieces are showcased throughout the Gardens on York Street.

Now to dazzle your friends, all you have to do is commit this pattern to memory and race through the complex maze with impressive speed.  And, to be on the safe side, maybe download a map to hide in your pocket just in case.

Other options: enjoy the Corn Maze from one of the two 15-foot-tall illuminated bridges overlooking it. Or use a child as an excuse and tackle the mini-maze instead.

The Corn Maze opens to the public on September 9th and will be open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday thereafter through October 30th.

By Jim McCausland, Sunset Magazine

Two of my favorite landscape designers are Rebecca Sams and Buell Steelman of Mosaic Gardens in Eugene, OR. And one of their best gardens—my favorite garden of the summer for sure—is a landscape in North Bend, OR, created for Steven and Lori Tersigni. Sited on a hill overlooking bay and bridge, it has the usual challenge of view (don't block it!), and a problematic population of deer. As a result, every plant was chosen for its deer-resistance.

Because this two-story house is built on a slope, its has an upper (entry level) garden, a lower garden, and a very smooth transitional garden between the two. Some plants (like Phlomis russelliana) are repeated on both levels to give the garden continuity. But sometimes it is colors that repeat, as in the blue ceanothis and lavender pictured above, at right.

There's plenty of lawn for play, and lush, thick borders that contain a mix of shrubs, perennials, and trees. The landscape is also generously supplied with seating areas like the one above, at left, and some low-key garden art.

Captions that follow each photograph tell the tale.

Stone steps bracketed by Hakonechloa macra and a gravel path bordered by catmint and New Zealand flax lead from the gardens upper to lower levels.

In the rear lower garden, a custom steel rose arbor frames the view from the house.

A birch arbor arches draws the eye to a ceramic pot behind and beneath it.

The area to the right of the birch arches has a rich palette of shade-tolerant perennials, including Rodgersia pinnata, Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost', black-leaved Ligularia 'Britt Marie Crawford', and autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora).

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Photo of Gallery by Jill Mamey

The first strokes of the giant plant "paintings" have begun at Descanso Gardens.  See my previous post for more about the Sturt Haaga Gallery, the Gardens' newest addition, shown below, and about the grids which in two weeks' time will be supporting dramatic vertical gardens.

While we're waiting for photos of the fully planted grids, let me share a few photos of Andrea Baldeck, whose giant prints -- not as big as the grids but still huge -- will be the subject of the first exhibition at the new Gallery. 

 Ranunculus

Moonflower

Garlic Scapes

Amaryllis

More about Andrea Baldeck

By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge is less than a month away from the grand opening of their newest attraction, the Sturt Haaga Gallery.  The Gallery, adjacent to the Boddy House, is blossoming forth from the old garage.  

There will be two galleries in the footprint of the garage, as shown below.

The new addition to the garage, which burrows into the hill behind it, shown below, will hold a third gallery.

And those enormous--the larger is 20' x 10', the smaller 11' x 8'--grids?  They'll be supporting hanging gardens soon. The plants have been grown and are ready to pop in.

Modular units such as the one on the left will be planted and hung on the grids.   When finished the larger grid will look something like a kelp bed does when you snorkle over it, says Brian Sullivan, the director of horticulture and garden operations at Descanso and the designer of the Sturt Haaga Gallery gardens.  "

"A ribbon effect, loose and flowing."  The smaller grid will be "painted" in a complimentary pattern, also wave shaped but with tighter plants.

Because the support system for the modules is slightly angled, the finished products will look like giant paintings propped against the wall, says Sullivan.  And, like exhibitions in a gallery, the "paintings" will not be permanent.  New versions will be substituted every year or so.

Thought it looked to me like Sullivan had a lot to do before the grand opening of the Gallery on September 16, he says they're right on schedule. 

Though he promised to send me photos as soon as these grids are planted, I was too jazzed about the project to wait.  So consider this a teaser.  When his completion photos arrive, I'll do a follow-up.