Garden Design

Holly Shimizu's Blog

Explore the blog for gardening tips, information about seasonal considerations, native plants, design recommendations, benefits of gardening, helpful books and tools, and much more! Browse articles below, click on the categories to explore by topic, or use the search button to find what you are looking for.

Have Fun Creating Container Beauties

A container filled with blooming plants will bring you great joy throughout the summer. The plants you select should be tailored to the...

Some Favorite Trees

Trees that have a long-life span, like oaks, tend to grow more slowly than short-lived trees such as cherries. Please don’t plant a crepe...

Summer Gardening Checklist

Even though summers tend to be hot and muggy, it’s important to find time to work in your garden. Your effort will help keep up with...

Native Perennial Grasses for the Garden

For many years ornamental grasses from Asia and other countries became popular in American gardens. However, once people realized how...

Hide and Reveal – creating mystery in Japanese Gardens

What makes traditional Japanese gardens distinctively different from western gardens? There are a number of design techniques used and...

Rain Gardens

Rain Gardens Homeowners should consider creating “rain gardens” because they can significantly reduce water issues. When rain pours...

Pollinator Garden in Glen Echo

A new pollinator garden has been implemented in the right-of-way by the Glen Echo Town Hall parking lot area above the retaining wall. It...

Great Native Perennials

Why am I so devoted to the choice of native plants? Native plants exemplify our distinctive geographical place. Thus, planting them in...

Garden Pathways

Garden pathways should be designed to be more than a utilitarian element in your garden. Pathways provide walking surfaces through your...

The Front Dooryard garden in Lewes

The front garden design in our Lewes garden is based on an Early American Colonial dooryard garden. It is not an replica but is an...

Roberto Burle Marx and the Wilson Botanical Garden

One of the Gardens I am involved with is the Wilson Botanical Garden, part of the Las Cruces Biological Station, Organization for...

Designing a Tranquil Garden

published in Fine Gardening No. 167, February 2016 By Holly H. Shimizu My ideal garden is a serene place, one in which you feel...

Creating A Habitat Garden

A well designed garden provides pleasure for humans and, if done with sensitivity, can simultaneously become a sanctuary for birds. Often...