A fun way to use salvaged pickets from old fencing, seen at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. All you need is a swipe of chalkboard paint on the top of each picket (or in a pinch, any dark flat exterior latex paint will do). Let each dry, then use plain chalk to indicate the… Continue reading »
Mar
21
Feb
23
There’s a little garden in all of us…
Hello Hobbit Garden! I’m here at the 2013 Northwest Flower and Garden Show at the beautiful Washington State Convention Center in Seattle and I can’t help but wonder, “What took me so long!” I’ve been meaning to come to this show for several years and now that I’m here I couldn’t be more inspired. There… Continue reading »
Dec
13
Light up
Here’s a fun idea for a rainy day. From Sow Simple, we love to make these cool garden-inspired candles ahead of time, to light the way to a wintertime party. They take just minutes to make (plus freezing time), and are guaranteed to set a warm glow on a chilly holiday evening. Store them in… Continue reading »
Dec
04
Are you, or orange you?
Are you into Christmas yet? One whiff of these babies and I know there will be no turning back for me. I got a taste of the holiday spirit over the weekend after nibbling (okay devouring) a batch of my beautiful sister-in-law’s family shortbread. Have mercy, here comes the merriment! And with that, cloves and… Continue reading »
Nov
27
Dirty weekend: making a living wreath
Last weekend was a whirlwind, but a sign like this can easily make you stop in your tracks, especially when those tracks are covered in flower petals… Such is the charm of the Olla Urban Flower Project in Gastown, Vancouver, where I attended a wreath workshops on Sunday.
Oct
23
Pumpkin planters
When our rock-star radio friend Jeff de Jong (host of Gardening 101 on CFax Radio in Victoria) casually asked if we’d ever made a “pumpkin planter”, we had one of those eureka moments.
May
22
Micro gardens
This morning it occurred to me that you don’t need a lot of land to have a garden. In fact, maybe you don’t need any land at all. This little garden is made from an upside down wire lampshade frame (a project from our first book, Everyday Eden). It sits on a chunk of lumber… Continue reading »
Apr
30
Weekend round-up and Cedar Rim
We had a great time on Saturday at Cedar Rim Nursery, in beautiful Langley, BC. John had told me that Cedar Rim was a great garden centre and man, he was not kidding. It’s just awesome! We met with some of the other presenters, including super lovely Sharon Hanna (and we got a sneak peek… Continue reading »
Apr
16
It’s Sow Simple!
Our new book, Sow Simple – 100+ Green and Easy Projects to Make Your Garden Awesome has arrived, just in time for the warmer weather : ) We are so grateful to our publishers (Harbour Publishing) and our editor, Carol Pope along with all of our wonderful magazine and newspaper editors, clients, friends, readers, bloggers… Continue reading »
Apr
11
Flowerpot pendants
We made these flowerpot lights for our recycled kitchen renovation. And they’re pretty cool! They’re made from simple existing track pendant lighting and vintage concrete flowerpots. First we disconnected all the power to the lights. Then we removed the original pendant lampshades which were made of mottled glass (not very pretty at all). We removed… Continue reading »