How Many Days Away?

Slowly but surely we are heading into another countdown – Memorial Day weekend, the milestone marker for outdoor fun and entertainment. Walking around your exterior space, you may not feel ready for that kickoff day. Which segues into today’s topic, pathways. Why we walk in the direction we do may never enter our mind but it is an important part of creating our outdoor spaces. Rebecca Solnit provides her definition of a path as “a prior interpretation of the best way to traverse a landscape.” Think about that? It's a fairly simple solution to where you place your paths. To assist you with dimensions, I’m pulling out an Annie archive to give you some tips on size and shapes. http://blog.bilowzassociates.com/2011/05/paths-of-least-resistance.html So now that we’re heading down the right path, I’ll be looking for those daily loyal counters as we head into the next big countdown for outdoor lovers. Memorial Day is how many days away?

Image and design byGreg Bilowz/Bilowz Associates Inc.

If you like this blog, hope you check in daily. You can like our fan page at http://www.facebook.com/abilowz or follow on twitter http://twitter.com/annbilowz (where there are even more shared tidbits) or subscribe on the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Contact me direct at annbilowz@gmail.com Happy Gardening. Annie P.S. You can now follow with visuals on Pinterest, too! http://pinterest.com/bilowzassoc/

Containing Yourself

What’s one of the best kept secrets of spring? Container gardening. Everyone can try their hand at it and the combinations are endless. In other words, it’s whatever fits your fancy. One word of caution: if you want to fill your containers with delicate annuals and herbs, you must plan on protecting your plants from what can still be the harsh elements of a frosty spring overnight. Just cover your pots with a container version of flannel pajamas and keep them protected until the sun warms up or bring them inside until the frost is cleared. Most of us wait to get the containers going because the above frosty issue can be trying or damaging, but it doesn’t mean we can’t start thinking combos. With so many plant choices, filling those containers becomes the best part of the fun. But we can’t leave out the pleasure of hunting for those unusual pots or urns that take a dull garden corner and make it burst with color. Containing yourself may be the hardest part of container gardening.  And as one of the great American Jazz musicians, Miles Davis once said “It's always been a gift with me, hearing music the way I do. I don't know where it comes from, it's just there and I don't question it.” So don’t question what makes a container beautiful. Listen to what works for you!



Images of container gardening by Ann Bilowz

If you like this blog, hope you check in daily. You can like our fan page at http://www.facebook.com/abilowz or follow on twitter http://twitter.com/annbilowz (where there are even more shared tidbits) or subscribe on the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Contact me direct at annbilowz@gmail.com Happy Gardening. Annie P.S. You can now follow with visuals on Pinterest, too! http://pinterest.com/bilowzassoc/

What’s in your Basket of Gold?

Thomas Dekker, the Elizabethan poet and dramatist once said, “A mask of gold hides all deformities.” We all know there are a few places like that in our gardens. Are you looking for a perfect mass of gold? Don’t overlook Alyssum saxatile (Basket-of-Gold). This hardy perennial (Zones: 3-7) jumps out at you with sunshine oomph on these cool spring mornings. Its bright yellow blossom makes this mossy rock wall pop, welcoming one to stop, linger and enjoy. Drought-tolerant, this honey of a perennial does well in craggy spaces; perfect for an alpine garden. It’s another one of those deer resistant plants, which is always a plus for many gardeners.

So what’s in your basket of gold?  It’s the perfect time to try out this full sun perennial and mask a few of those deformities in the garden.  

Images of Alyssum saxatile (Basket-of-Gold) in our garden by Ann Bilowz

If you like this blog, hope you check in daily. You can like our fan page at http://www.facebook.com/abilowz or follow on twitter http://twitter.com/annbilowz (where there are even more shared tidbits) or subscribe on the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Contact me direct at annbilowz@gmail.com Happy Gardening. Annie P.S. You can now follow with visuals on Pinterest, too! http://pinterest.com/bilowzassoc/