Lotus Designs Philosophy: Decorate Your Outdoor Rooms
Welcome to Spring 2013 and back to our blog! Many of you have asked me to inform you when my HGTV episode will air and it’s on April 9. Read more…
Latest Posts
Trends in Outdoor Living
Lotus Designs Philosophy: Live outdoors!
Jamie Durie of Oprah and HGTV fame visited our very own Green Acres Nursery. With the Grand Opening of their new Folsom location, they catered a beautiful spread of food and brought out the big guns – Jamie. Read more…
Garden Trends of 2012
Lotus Designs Philosophy: New year brings new ideas, products and plants for your garden – check it out!
Last week I had the pleasure of hosting and presenting to the Casual Gardeners of AAUW (Association of American University Women). As a landscape designer/contractor, having a group to your garden in February can be daunting. They assured me they were “casual” gardeners. Women with a shared passion and laidback attidude – come on over!
With the new year came a flood of blog posts on the latest trends in gardening. I don’t pretend the following ideas are my own, but a combination of what I read on the web and my twist. Here are a few ideas discussed with the Casual Gardeneners:
1. Intimate Outdoor Rooms – designate space in your garden with outdoor rooms. Wide open space only works in nature. Gardens need structure and defined space. Scale is most important so by intimate, I mean the right amount of space for its purpose with definite boundaries. At the Overboe residence, we extended the exisitng patio and removed lawn to create this outdoor room that can accomodate their family and friends for entertaining. The built-in daybed functions as a reading area with the kids, extra seating for entertaining and retains the slope behind. Creating intimate outdoor rooms doesn’t have to mean a complete overhaul. Intimate spaces can be created simply adding a outdoor rug, hedge, pots or changing the furniture arrangement.
2. Orange – this year’s hottest color in fashion, interiors and of course, exteriors. I love the orange blooms on this Coral Aloe against the gray-green foliage of the lavender and olive and smoky purple blooms. There are lots of new plants with orange foliage including Heuchera ‘Delta Dawn’ and Carex testacea. One of my new favorites with orange blooms is the Rose Drift series in coral – a true low-maintenance groundcover rose.
3. Reuse, Re-purpose – not a new concept but the ideas are endless. At the Gunn residence, the deck behind the pool was failing. We stripped off the old spindle railing and attached it the fence in the kitchen garden. It is the trellising for beans and sweet peas. We reused the base of the deck, stabilized it and added the arbor, bench and sides. With a fresh coat of stain and inexpensive reed fencing, the Gunn’s have a beautiful cabana.
Great to be back at Garden With Lotus! The #1 rule with a blog is consistency. Guess what my new year’s resolution is?!
Inspired By Architecture
Lotus Designs Philosophy:
Emotion Drives Design
A few years ago, I tagged along with my girlfriend to a Cabi party hosted by her work associate. Nikki’s little craftsman house, in an old part of Roseville, was so charming and well loved. Read more…
10 Plants for Pools
Lotus Designs Philosophy:
Plants are the Accessories – Choose Wisely for the Desired Effect
My friend, Lynn, requested a blog post on plants for pools. While I have seen this in major publications, I thought I’d give the subject a Lotus Designs twist. Read more…
The Addiction of Japanese Maples
Lotus Designs Philosophy:
Diversity in the Garden is Fun!
My girlfriend, Lu, visited our local grocery store and texted that she wanted a Japanese Maple that was sitting out front. Tempting as ever, but sometimes it shouldn’t be so easy. With her spring break about to start, I suggested a field trip to Lake’s Nursery here in the Sierra Foothills. Read more…
The Ruth Bancroft Garden with Mom and Brother
Lotus Designs Philosophy:
Visit Gardens for Inspiration
My Mom, Diane and brother, Matt at The Ruth Bancroft Garden Read more…
Finally, I Have Fruit Trees!
Lotus Designs Philosophy:
Add Edibles to Ornamental Plant Design
I’ve never had my own fruit trees. Growing up, we had a small backyard orchard. I loved the beauty of the fruit hanging on the bare persimmon tree and the juiciness of a fresh picked peach. Read more…
A Landscape Design Mantra
Lotus Designs Philosophy:
Form Follows Function
Actually, form follows function is a widely chanted mantra in many design disciplines and one I firmly subscribe too. While all standard practices of landscape construction are necessary (function), the fun comes in the aesthetic nature of building spaces that WOW (form). Read more…
