The contrast of a flowering fruit tree on a winters day is like a chocolate and vanilla swirl ice cream. A perfect combination. The simple beauty and cheery enthusiasm of these flowers set against a cool, gray afternoon doubles up as both cozy and enlivening. Fleeting and irresistible. Bringing these flowers inside is a like a [...]
Archive for the ‘DESIGN’ Category
March 9, 2013 by Emily Murphy · Leave a Comment
Filed under: BEE, Ideas, Inspired
Social Tagging: Beauty of Fruit Trees • Fruit Trees in Bloom • Spring Flowers
Filed under: BEE, Ideas, Inspired
Social Tagging: Beauty of Fruit Trees • Fruit Trees in Bloom • Spring Flowers
March 1, 2013 by Emily Murphy · Leave a Comment
Filed under: DESIGN, DISCOVER, DO, Gardens, Grow, Materials
Social Tagging: grow a garden • Urban Gardening Ideas
Filed under: DESIGN, DISCOVER, DO, Gardens, Grow, Materials
Social Tagging: grow a garden • Urban Gardening Ideas
How much space do you need to garden? What counts? It’s one of the latest questions buzzing around the garden world since NPR covered a study on urban gardening in Chicago. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign used Google Earth to find over 65 acres dedicated to food production — or at least what [...]
October 11, 2012 by Emily Murphy · Leave a Comment
Filed under: BEE, Botanical Moment, Critters, DESIGN, Gardens, Habitat, Habitat
Social Tagging: Ecology in the Garden • Garden Habitats • Growing Rudbeckia spp.
Filed under: BEE, Botanical Moment, Critters, DESIGN, Gardens, Habitat, Habitat
Social Tagging: Ecology in the Garden • Garden Habitats • Growing Rudbeckia spp.
It’s hard to go wrong with black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia spp.). They’re lovely no matter how or where you plant them, pairing well with most other perennials, grasses and shrubs. Try digitalis, salvia, delphinium, hollyhocks, echinacea, Russian sage, bee balm, any bunch grass, ribes…. it doesn’t matter. At the moment I’m particularly fond of paring them [...]
September 30, 2012 by Emily Murphy · Leave a Comment
Filed under: BEE, Inspired, Perspective, Sustainable
Social Tagging: Bill Reid • Garden Art • Lawn Alternatives
Filed under: BEE, Inspired, Perspective, Sustainable
Social Tagging: Bill Reid • Garden Art • Lawn Alternatives
Okay. You might not have thought of your lawn in these terms, or mowing anything for that matter in these terms, but it’s certainly entertaining. My friend and artist, Bill Reid, recently sent me this art card. Of course, I love it. Why not? Art, gardening and the musings of the mundane. Or a friendly [...]
September 14, 2012 by Emily Murphy · Leave a Comment
Filed under: DESIGN, DISCOVER, Gardens, Ideas
Social Tagging: Design a Rain Garden
Filed under: DESIGN, DISCOVER, Gardens, Ideas
Social Tagging: Design a Rain Garden
This place is so much fun, you might just overlook the rain garden, smack dab in front of you. Or rather you see it, you just might not realize it’s anything other than an eye-catching flower bed. Look closely as you follow the stone path leading through the cosmos. You’ll find a drain with grate [...]
July 22, 2012 by Emily Murphy · Leave a Comment
Filed under: BEE, DESIGN, DISCOVER, Habitat, Inspired, Nature, Perspective, Planting
Social Tagging: Plant a Tree • The Queen's Jubilee • Woodland Trust
Filed under: BEE, DESIGN, DISCOVER, Habitat, Inspired, Nature, Perspective, Planting
Social Tagging: Plant a Tree • The Queen's Jubilee • Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is a British organization aiming to save and restore forest lands of the UK. Only 2% of Britain’s ancient woodlands remain. Their latest project, under Queen Elizabeth’s guidance, is to plant 6 million trees as a lasting tribute in honor of the Queen’s Jubilee. The Jubilee Woods will transform the landscape of [...]
July 12, 2012 by Emily Murphy · Leave a Comment
Filed under: DESIGN, DO, Gardens, Grow, Ideas, Tips
Social Tagging: Container Gardening • grow a garden • Raised Bed • Should a garden be contained? • Urban Farm
Filed under: DESIGN, DO, Gardens, Grow, Ideas, Tips
Social Tagging: Container Gardening • grow a garden • Raised Bed • Should a garden be contained? • Urban Farm
The opportunity for “deckening*” is at hand, right out my door. However I’ve never loved growing plants in pots, at least not as a sole point of interest. In fact, when I get to the section on the latest container garden arrangements in nearly any and all gardening publication I hastily skip to the next [...]
March 24, 2012 by Emily Murphy · 1 Comment
Filed under: DISCOVER, Ecology, News, Organic, Perspective, Sustainable
Social Tagging: CA Strawberry Growers Face Controversy • Grow Organic Strawberries • Growing Food in Sterilized Soil? • Methyl bromide • Methyl iodide • pesticide drift
Filed under: DISCOVER, Ecology, News, Organic, Perspective, Sustainable
Social Tagging: CA Strawberry Growers Face Controversy • Grow Organic Strawberries • Growing Food in Sterilized Soil? • Methyl bromide • Methyl iodide • pesticide drift
Methyl bromide has been the fumigant of choice for conventional, US strawberry growers. Plastic row covers are installed and methyl bromide gas injected, sterilizing the soil, killing fungi, weed seeds, and every other living thing. Studies show that fumigated fields yield 5 times more strawberries than non-fumigated fields. It’s a lucrative business, for farmers and [...]
February 16, 2012 by Emily Murphy · 1 Comment
Filed under: BEE, DISCOVER, DO, Garden Love, Grow, Ideas, Inspired
Social Tagging: Beauty and Utility • feed yourself • Gardens for food and beauty • Grow Flowers • OPIUM POPPY • Papaver somniferum
Filed under: BEE, DISCOVER, DO, Garden Love, Grow, Ideas, Inspired
Social Tagging: Beauty and Utility • feed yourself • Gardens for food and beauty • Grow Flowers • OPIUM POPPY • Papaver somniferum
I started my New Year’s resolution early, direct seeding these poppies, Papaver somniferum, in October. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but they’ve been on “my must” plant list for over 20 years. Pathetic, maybe. Horribly distracted, probably. I was botanizing common garden weeds with taxonomy friends when they first caught my attention. They were [...]
July 26, 2011 by Emily Murphy · Leave a Comment
Filed under: DESIGN, Gardens, Ideas, Perspective
Social Tagging: Design a Garden • Dr. Michael Mesler • French Potager • Humboldt State University Botany Department • Parsimony
Filed under: DESIGN, Gardens, Ideas, Perspective
Social Tagging: Design a Garden • Dr. Michael Mesler • French Potager • Humboldt State University Botany Department • Parsimony
Dr. Michael Mesler, my plant taxonomy professor at Humboldt State University, likened simplicity to parsimony. When examining computational phylogenetics (a complicated subject) he taught us that the phylogenetic tree with the fewest evolutionary changes was most likely correct. “Thus,” he would say, “the simplest answer is usually the best answer.” While the study of the [...]