Summer gave way to Autumn last week. The rain washed our gardens. The arrival of Autumn provokes two thoughts within me. The first is a reflection on the lessons learned throughout the garden this year. The second is looking forward to a new Spring. I learned that...

A couple of weeks ago I took a walk next door to High-Hand. We have a project underway, the expansion of a lifetime you could say. The Woodmill. To say that it is going to keep us busy for a few years during construction is an understatement. I was reflecting on the...

I checked the weather, so check this out. Today is hot, yesterday hot. But this Saturday it'll be cold, relatively speaking. If you work out in the weather for a living, whether its 100 or 104, it doesn't make much difference, minus the humidity of course. Only when...

I wanted to title this email "I'm going to pick a fight", but I changed my mind, that would not very nursery-ish, would it? Besides, what nursery goes out and picks fights? Let's pick something positive to start off with. Let's pick Lavender. You asked for it,...

In the plant world there are so many rules. Maybe not rules, let's call them guidelines. But I guess you can say there are a few rules to plants. Don't plant a Rhododendron in the sun. Don't plant a Japanese Maple upside down. And yes, certainly, never plant a tomato...

Today I had a chance to walk Maple Rock Gardens with Sherry, an editor from Garden Gate Magazine, and Debbie Arrington. You might recognize Debbie's name. For years she was the Garden Writer for the Sacramento Bee. It was fun. Being garden enthusiasts we both looked...

As a child my favorite movie was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (I'm sure most of you know this by now, I've talked about Willy a lot). As he was leading Charlie and his cohorts into the factory he suddenly stopped and whipped around with his walking cane in...

Every year we open up Maple Rock gardens for an event called Bloomtastic. By now I'm sure you've heard of Maple Rock. I'm sure that some of you have seen Maple Rock for yourselves. But the one thing nobody has been able to see during the Bloomtastic event is the...

I'm always astonished at the metamorphosis of nature. Nature is power. Nature is grace. As we go through our busy lives, day to day, month to month, year to year, do you remember? Do you stop to recognize the new beginnings and healing that nature's spring brings us?...

If you close your eyes for a moment and think back over the course of the last six months, what would you be thinking about? Would you be able to separate in your mind all the events that had occurred? Or would it just be a big blur? When I look back over the past six...