You can really bring the outdoors in with this Angel’s Trumpet Lamp, made of sculpted Unyru Japanese paper. The Angel’s Trumpet is also known as Brugmansia, although I’ve also heard Datura referred to as Angel’s Trumpet. Although similar, Datura is herbaceous rather than woody, and its flowers point upward. Brugmansia’s flowers hang downward, just like […]
Glowing furniture
You gotta love Gau Designs’ Glowing Wireless furniture. Made of reclaimed and refinished wood, polyacrylic, and reclaimed steel, this indoor/outdoor bench/table has a built-in rechargeable lighting system (those acrylic tubes are wireless LEDs) which provide up to eight hours of light. I just love the juxtaposition of the sleek acrylic lamps and the earthiness of […]
Fun with Plant Finder
As a garden writer, I rely on the RHS Plant Finder to double check the spelling and “accepted names” of the plants I mention. But it doesn’t have to be purely pragmatic in use. It’s fun to see what comes up when you type in certain words (no, there aren’t any cultivars with “sex” in […]
Best gifts for gardeners
Christmas and Hanukkah are right around the corner! It’s time to get shopping, so to save you some stress, here’s my list of the most desirable garden gifts: The Lucca Adjustable Lounge Armchair, from Design Within Reach would look fabulous on the third-floor deck of our townhouse. It’s nerdy, but I’ve always wanted to get […]
How to: make an evergreen wreath
Perhaps the only thing better than the scent of fresh-cut evergreen boughs is having that scent come from a wreath you’ve made yourself. My mom and some friends did just that last weekend and I played photojournalist. And so, may I present: A step-by-step guide to wreath making You will need: A wreath frame (available […]
Festival of Lights starts tomorrow
Van Dusen Botanical Garden’s Festival of Lights runs December 9th through 31st from 5:00pm to 9:00pm (except Christmas Day). The Festival of Lights is a Vancouver tradition now in its 21st year. Over a million lights decorate the Garden’s 12 acres, and it’s really quite a magical scene. You can’t help but get into the […]
Humble Viburnum
This little guy was one of my first perennial purchases. At the time, I didn’t know much about gardening, so I asked the lady at the nursery for suggestions. My requirements: must do well in a container and in shade, look good most of the year, and not require too much work. She suggested the […]
International Garden Festival
The International Garden Festival recently announced the names of the designers invited to take part in the 2006 festival. The Festival, which has taken place on the site of Reford Gardens/Les Jardins de Métis in Quebec, asks landscape designers from Canada and around the world to create temporary gardens on-site. The Festival has become an […]