Enjoy my special “Holiday Design Inspiration: Garden Center Tour” video presented by Garden World Report!

 

 

Featuring:

Brenda Haas of The Garden Chat and BG Garden  takes us on a photo tour of seven garden centers in the Midwest that are decorated luxuriously for the holidays.

Christina Salwitz, The Personal Garden Coach presents some of her holiday container garden ideas.

Suzi McCoy, trend spotter for Garden Media Group talks about edible garden trends.

Gieo Pensenauelt of the New American Landscape Channel tours a garden center in Colorado with custom colored Christmas trees and Poinsettias.

John of Bob’s Market and Greenhouse shows us how to care for Poinsettias. Did you know that they are tropical plants?

I share the garden news and more!

 

Merry Christmas friends!

"Garden Inspiration for Spring" is the theme for the season premiere of the Garden World Report Show as well as a number of other exciting stories.

 

This is the first show of the new season for  the Garden World Report which is now being shot in HD quality.

I'm also very jazzed about a couple of new video series that are making their debut on the Garden World Report show.

 

Nicholas Staddon of Monrovia preparing to tape his segment on botanical latin. 

 

New Series: "Say it in Botanical Latin"

"Say it in Botanical Latin," is a short 40-second video that will teach you how to pronounce the botanical names of plants.

This new series will be incorporated into the Garden World Report show and be available by demand on the website.

This is the first video series on botanical latin  and I'm very proud to bring it to my audience!

 

Nicholas Staddon, who is in charge of new plant introductions for Monrovia, (one of the largest plant growers in North America), will teach us how to properly pronounce the botanical name of a popular plant.

I love Nicholas's English accent, and his relaxed manner and sense of humor will put you at ease.

 

Isn't it about time we had a video series on botanical plant names?

 

 

New Series: "Garden Authority TV"

Another new series being introduced through Garden World Report  is called, "Garden Authority TV."

Garden Authority TV is another original series I created which features the world's most popular garden authors  presenting gardening tips, "how-to's," and insights on subjects that they have written about.

The signature "sign off" on "Garden Authority TV," is the playful line, "I know what I'm talking about, I wrote a book on the subject!"

How can you argue with that?

 

Award winning author, Debra Prinzing of "Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways" starts off the series talking about creative ways to add light to your garden shed.

 

 

 

Garden Inspiration from Garden Shows and Tours!

Those of you who are suffering from "cabin fever "get ready for some "arm chair travel!"

The Garden World Report Show takes you to the North West Flower and Garden Show,  a garden tour in Australia, and a glamorous, "Hollywood" garden party  hosted by Garden Design Magazine!

 

Robin Haglund                                               Christina Salwitz

Contributors Christina Salwitz, known as the "Personal Garden Coach" and  "Garden Mentor," Robin Haglund share their reports from the NWFG show in Washington state.

Robin takes us on a "behind the scenes" look at the building of an award winning show garden.

 

You won't believe how these gardens are built!

 

Shirley with Neville Passmore (l) and Trevor Cochrane (r), hosts of Australia's most popular garden TV show, the "Garden Gurus!"

 

Popular garden television star from Australia, Trevor Cochrane, host of the "Garden Gurus"  TV show joins the Garden World Report contributor team.

Trevor will give us a tour of his garden and will return to future shows as the "globe trotting" garden guru.

 

 

Starting Seeds and "What to Do While Waiting for Spring."

 

Brenda Haas                                                                                 Kylee Baumle

 

Popular contributors, Brenda Haas and Kylee Baumle return for the new season with some inspiring garden project ideas.

Brenda shares her seed-saving and sowing tips and Kylee has a list of creative ways for cold climate gardeners to stay active while waiting for the snow to melt.

 

These two are so motivating that it makes me wish for some snow in my LA garden too!

 

All photos Copyright Photo Courtesy Jennifer Kelley Lublin Photography www.JKLphotos.com

 

Shirley with celebrated designer, Lory Johansson and her client, award-winning producer, RJ Cutler of "September Issue."

Cutler's yard is Garden Design magazine's, March cover story.

I'm taking my  viewers behind the scenes to Garden Design Magazine's, "Hollywood" party to celebrate the launch of it's March, celebrity garden  issue!

I was there last week with my  GWReport crew and photographer, (they call them "paparazzi" in Hollywood).

 

.

All photos Copyright Photo Courtesy Jennifer Kelley Lublin Photography www.JKLphotos.com

 

Watch my interviews  with  the editors of Garden Design magazine,  garden authors and garden designers at this premiere event!

This is as glamorous as gardening gets in North America!

 

News Flash: The editors of Garden Design magazine have agreed to be monthly contributors to the Garden World Report show. We will now be able to drop in on their editorial meetings and listen to their discussions about the next month's issue!

This is another first in garden media.

I can't wait to see how this first rate magazine selects gardens for their cover stories and more.

 

For more information about the Garden Design magazine party, visit my friend and Garden World Report contributor, Jane Gates who wrote a series of articles about the Garden Design bash on her blog and on her Examiner.com site.

Jane is an expert about chaparral plants and will be reporting on her specialty soon!

Look for her, she is a bounty of knowledge!

 

Yolanda Vanveen- online garden video diva!

 

Don't let the little photo fool you, Yolanda Vanveen has a HUGE presence online!

Yolanda has appeared in over 2000 gardening videos that are syndicated all over the web.

Yolanda joins the team of contributors on the Garden World Report show and has a special message for our viewers.

It took me a couple of months to plan this show and I hope that you all enjoy it.

I now have a talented and professional editor who has relieved me of my editing duties so you will notice the difference in the production quality of the show.

Thank God, I needed some help!

Please enjoy the show and feel free to embed the video player on your blog and make sure to tell your friends about the "new garden TV" online at the Garden World Report show!

A yogi visited my garden and she took over!

 

Don't ask me about Yoga, I don't know anything about it except that it looks "too relaxing" to activate weight loss.

I picture people posing in uncomfortable positions as they try to focus on their breathing.

What do I know from Yoga? I always say, "when I reach my weight goal, I'll take a yoga class and relax.

 

 

I have a friend named Hilary Lindsay who is a Master Yogi/Guru to the stars, professional athletes  and regular folks in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

Hilary is a walking promo for the benefits of this ancient discipline.

Her brand of yoga is called "Active Yoga" and she dares anyone to call it a mere "stretching class," unless that definition includes the mind, body and soul!

 

The lady looks amazing and when she came to visit me in Los Angeles last week, we spent a lot of time together in my garden.

Man, did we spend a lot of time in my garden!

 

She noticed every detail..

 

 

 

And she took a lot of deep breaths too, as if she was inhaling in every fragrance, every color, the very soul of my garden!

I wanted to tell her to "leave some of that air for me!"

 

We talked about our lives, stopping occasionally to answer questions about "how to root succulents" and design considerations when transitioning from a dry garden to a lush, water garden.

 

 

Shaded by the canopy of a fragrant apricot tree, we stopped to enjoy the moment and each others company.

 

Hilary seemed to be "at one" with my garden and I could only imagine that this was a mindset that she had cultivated with yoga.

There are many elements of my garden that were contrived to create a mood, take advantage of sun patterns and play up contrasting textures and colors.

Hilary seemed to notice them all and was generous in her praise and appreciation.

 

 

A free spirit, Hilary was playful in my garden, turning, bending and reaching her hands to the sky as I took her picture.

 

I realized that if my garden were a person, it would be a lot like Hilary.

Natural but not ordinary, vibrant and soothing, kinetic, yet still.

Unconventional and inspiring.

Joyful.

 

My garden has the same effect on  me!

 

Does your garden reflect who you are too?

Need some inspiration for your personalized garden shed?

 

I've been challenged  by Debra Prinzing's book, Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways to consider the creative use of sheds within the garden as personal retreats, work spaces and hobby rooms.

Although I'm a landscape designer who relishes the unconventional, I haven't crossed the bridge yet to design a "non-gardening" related shed.

Garden sheds are very common, yet I bet you haven't seen sheds like the ones presented in Debra's book before.

 

Photographed by the talented, William Wright, the book is visually stunning and offers inspirational accounts of how these customized retreats have enriched the lives of its keepers.

 

Caution: Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways may cause uncontrollable desire for a shed of ones own!

 

Usually, I don't care to read about the homeowner's lives in  a design book, I just want to see the pictures!

The profiles about the shed owners in the book, complimented my appreciation for the sheds.

It opened my eyes to how a well designed garden structure could meet a variety of needs.

 

One shed was used as a design studio, another as an artist retreat, another for writing, yet another as a children's playroom.

 

With descriptive names for each shed like "Planting Paradise, "Mod Pod," and "Hampton Hut," I finished the book with the impression that there is a perfect shed out there for everyone and everyone should have one!

 

Here are a few examples from Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways:

One of the smallest sheds profiled in the book is an 8' x 8' foot potting shed in Santa Cruz, California owned by Martha Mendoza that Debra dubbed, the "Newsroom."

 

Martha, a Pulitzer-prize-winning investigative reporter, finished the interior of an old wood shed and uses it as her office.

She now has a private place to write that is close to home and her family.

The "Newsroom" is a good example of a shed that is accessible for many people.

I can just see Martha "digging up some dirt" for a story while enjoying the sweet view of her vegetable and flower garden!

 

 

Pictured above is one of my other favorite sheds that Debra named the "Rec Room."

 

Lin Su, a young technology professional for Yahoo, felt cramped in her 600 square foot Santa Monica cottage and needed more space for work and entertaining.

Lin opted for a prefabricated structure designed by Ryan Grey Smith of Modern-Shed and found the 10-by-12-foot studio perfect for her needs and budget.

Set in her modern garden, Lin's shed allows her to enjoy urban living at its finest!

 

 

I fell for this romantic shed, named the "Sweet Retreat!" Can you see yourself in this room?

 

Designers Rand Babock and Tony Nahr, created  this garden retreat and filled it with their favorite antiques and mementos.

Debra writes that Rand and Tonyr often use the room for dining, reading and intimate gatherings.

I wouldn't mind ironing mountains of clothes if I could do it in this room!

 

The "Sweet Retreat" measures a mere 10-feet-by-10-feet proving again that great things come in small packages!

 

 

Thank you Debra for including a Mediterranean-style shed for us "dry gardeners" who thirst for an oasis to relax in!

 

William Wright's camera lens closes in on this open-air pavilion aptly found under the "Extravagant Gestures" section of the book.

Located in Fallbrook, California and proudly owned by Les Olson and Patrick Anderson, the golden retreat is a crowning jewel in the two acre Eden that is home to plants that spike, whorl, fan and delight!

Debra devoted 8-pages to this jaw-dropping-gorgeous retreat and garden, so you will have to  buy the book to see the close ups!

 

Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways is a well-crafted book and  includes highlighted sections specifying information such as material used, design challenges, creative solutions and featured decor.

Use it as guidebook and muse for creating your garden hideaway.

 

All you need is a little yard space, lots of imagination and a small or generous budget.

 

 

 

Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways should be on every one's coffee table for the beauty it shares and the dreams it provokes in us to "escape to our own backyards."