When my husband and I remodeled a year ago, I carved out a perfect office and workshop area in a single car garage. With the addition of our new master bedroom wing, it created this small, private, very intimate garden room which I can look out and access from my office and workshop. I planted a Podocarpus hedge along the north fence on one side, a row of espaliered Silver Wave Camellias along the stucco wing on the south side, and the third side was my very old working garden shed to the west.

In the middle of this garden room, I created a pea gravel square edged with dwarf Euonymus and placed my vintage garden baby fountain smack in the middle. My garden baby fountain, see Everyone Loves a "Garden Baby"  finally had a permanent home, after years of transit traveling around my garden.

The reason I'm describing all of this in detail is because I had an unappealing open door and side of my garden shed which desperately needed some sprucing up. The answer was burlap, the reasonable landscape burlap which has incredible texture, durability, and vintage-like appeal. This is another idea for garden economizing--reasonable landscape burlap as a material. If you don't know about it, you must look for it at your garden and landscape centers. I find my burlap locally at Grangetto's. You can also be creative and re-purpose coffee burlap bags.

I created a small vignette with an old warped wood table, matching symmetrical pots, a pair of young cypress trees for height, and blue-gray shutters for interest and color repetition.  I pulled out my "dusty but trusty" sewing machine, and loosely measured my spaces as everything was uneven. Presto, a working burlap curtain door, and a sweet table skirt for my table. I secured hidden dowels to hang the burlap for my shed opening and table. I also dug out one of my old hooks, and placed it on the side of my shed for a quick way to hold up the burlap curtain door when I needed the large opening.

What a difference, and what beauty in this burlap. Think of this landscape burlap material when you have a project where it might conveniently lend itself. Please share if you use this burlap material already in your garden. Please comment on creative ways you have worked with this burlap.

Vertical gardening is a hot trend right now, and an easy way to grow one of my favorite squashes, the climbing Zucchetta Tromba D'Albenga. No more space in your garden, try planting your seeds at the base of a fence or an arbor. It is a multifaceted squash, beautiful in it's vining fashion and prolific in it's numerous elongated squash fruit. It's squash quickly can reach 15" and longer.

This Italian heirloom beauty is a great sweet-flavored green summer squash if picked young, or keep it on the vine, and it turns into a toffee colored, slightly nutty tasting winter squash. Seeds are found in the bottom bulbous portion of the squash fruit, hence it is ideal for sautéing or stuffing. It's huge yellow squash blossoms are delicious and can be eaten, too.

I started my Zucchetta Tromba D'Albenga squash easily from seed in the spring, and then transplanted it into my garden as thriving seedlings. It takes the heat well, and seems adaptable for most climates. One of the  online  sources  for Zucchetta Tromba D'Albenga is Baker Heirloom Seeds.

I've even saved my toffee-colored Zucchetta Tromba D'Albenga squash for fall decorations amongst my pumpkins. It's shape adds a nice contrast to round pumpkins, and fall gourds.

Please share if you have grown Zucchetta Tromba D'Albenga in your garden. Please comment on your favorite squash to grow.

One of my favorite trees is the evergreen Magnolia grandiflora Little Gem. I love it's shiny green and brown foliage as much as it's magnificent white 5-6" blossoms. It is perfection. This bee was so happy, I could of sworn it was dancing.

The Magnolia Little Gem is a dwarf Southern Magnolia with dark green foliage and a compact upright form suitable for smaller gardens and planting areas. It can reach 20 to 25' high and 10-15' wide. These magnolia's can be espaliered and coaxed into shapes. I have two Magnolia Little Gems fan-espaliered in my front flower beds against white stucco walls, and one stand-alone growing upright with the beginnings of an arch welcoming those entering my driveway.

Magnolia Little Gem, likes full sun, moderate water, and are optimally grown in zones 7-9. Not all magnolias are evergreen, but this variety is. It is a heavy bloomer, blooming from early spring through late summer with it's magnificent billowy pure white flowers. Once the flower is spent, each flower pod continues to dry intact, adding further interest and character. These trees are relatively disease and pest resistant. A Magnolia Little Gem can be grown successfully in a container, and placed on a sunny patio or deck.

I like to decorate around the holidays with boughs of magnolia branches on front doors, holiday tables, across fireplace mantles, and along railings. It's deep green glossy leaves, paired with a rust-brown under side, bordering on copper is is a natural and eye-catching style for the holidays.

Please share if you have a Magnolia Little Gem in your garden.

Last weekend, I experienced this year's  Secret Garden Tour of La Jolla, and was thrilled at the homes and gardens showcased on the tour. Each home had an Artist in the Garden, Designer in the Garden, and Musicians in the Garden, which elevated the garden settings to poetry.

At one of my favorite homes on the tour, this historic 1925 home was decorated in tasteful architectural salvage. The table display, and Designers in the Garden, were Etceteras in La Jolla. I loved their entire table vignette, but was absolutely smitten by their vintage frog place card holders. I had never seen them so small and dainty. A perfect anchor for a name card.

The entire place setting with the pewter cups, peacocks, fruit, woven  twig place mats all  worked  together to create a warm and inviting table.

Vintage flower frogs are fun to collect, and can re-purposed for holding table place setting, cherished photos, bills, business cards, and even their original purpose--flowers. Vintage flower frogs can be found at shops like Etceteras, fleas markets, garage sales, and online.

VintageGardenGal Tidbit Thyme...

Attention Chicken Lovers! Spruce up your chicken coop for VintageGardenGal's Annual Chicken Coop Photo Contest. Send in your photos this month to bonnie@vintagegardengal.com

On the recent tour of this year's Encinitas Garden Festival, one of the private gardens had a beautiful white-picket fence enclosing an immaculate raised bed vegetable garden. Adjacent to the vegetable garden was an open area with a pathway and fruit trees. In addition, there was a fabulous focal point of creative staggered containers, using wine boxes, galvanized tubs, and burlap bags. Something so simple, with a "wow" factor. It is structural, functional, beautiful, clever, and unique all in one. Hats off to this homeowner, and their herb garden.

This is reminiscent of an idea in Rosalind Creasy's new book, Edible Landscaping, where she describes how to stagger and arrange different size half-wine barrels for a perfect container grouping.

Most of these containers can be found in local farm and garden supply stores, such as Grangettos, Home Depot, or even flea markets for the weathered and rusty look. Look around your garage, sheds, utility areas for possible containers you might already have. Wine boxes can be found at wine shops, wineries, and friends who are in wine clubs.

It is still important to create holes for drainage in the case of the galvanzied tubs, and line the wooden wine boxes with heavy plastic, small rocks for drainage, and then your preferred soil. Eventually burlap bags will break down exposed to weather elements, but will hold up through a few seasons. Gardener's burlap is strong, yet very reasonable, coming in ready-sewn bags, or longer sheets of material.

With very little expense, and a lot of creativity, you might be able to create a unique container focal point in your garden, too.

VintageGardenGal Tidbit Thyme...

Attention Chicken Lovers! Spruce up your chicken coop for VintageGardenGal's Annual Chicken Coop Photo Contest. Send in your photos this month to bonnie@vintagegardengal.com

Sweet peas flowers are usually trimmed at their stem base for a tight bouquet of elegant color and perfume. This style can loosely be described as the "Biedermeier" style, a European hand-tied style tightly structured flower arrangement in a circular pattern. See my recent post, First Bouquet of Sweet Peas.  Author, Debra Lee Baldwin, graciously commented from that post, "Did you know that the fragrance of sweet peas has never been duplicated chemically?" Something that I did not know, and makes sweet peas all that special.

For another style using sweet peas, try cutting your sweet peas in long boughs, in other words try cutting and using your entire sweet pea vine. It is an entirely different look for sweet peas, similar to a dramatic "tossle" of some one's beautiful long mane. Cutting sweet peas in this manner, you have a larger bouquet, whimsical sweet pea tendrils, the fragrance and color of romantic sweet pea flowers, and the wonderful texture and color of the sweet pea vine itself.

In the above photo, I have used a mid-century flower stand rusted container with height, and character. These un-named sweet peas, their seeds a gift from a garden club sharing table, are a combination of white and ivory sweet peas, elegant and romantic. This type of cut arrangement will last and provide enjoyment for at least a week.

Please comment if you have made flower arrangements using sweet peas in this style. Please share your favorite sweet pea to grow.

VintageGardenGal Tidbit Thyme...

Attention Chicken Lovers! Spruce up your chicken coop for VintageGardenGal's Annual Chicken Coop Photo Contest. Send in your photos this coming May!

Encinitas Garden Festival is Saturday, April 30, 2011. For more detailed information and tickets, please visit Encinitas Garden Festival.

I want to share with you some of the exceptional places that I come across from time to time. These places are gems and not to be missed if you are in the area, or they could even be a destination. Most have a "garden thread" to them. "Places To Know" can be retail, restaurants, nurseries, and other. Whatever the place, expect the unusual.

Nearly six years ago I met girlfriends in Paris, for a pre-Christmas splurge and getaway. Paris is always enchanting, but even more so around the holidays. Ever since then, I associate Paris with Christmas time. What a grand pairing!

A few Decembers ago, I borrowed from my "Christmas Time in Paris" experience, and helped create for one of my garden groups, a Parisian Holiday Tea, hosted at the opulent (and closest venue to Paris that I could find in the San Diego area) The Grand Del Mar, just east of Del Mar, California. Holiday teas can be a special gesture to share with good friends, nieces, sisters, moms, grandmothers, granddaughters, and loved ones.

Like a thread I could weave, I picked the "Christmas Time in Paris" theme and wove details for a Parisian Holiday Tea. Here are some of the styling details that helped create a special holiday tea.

1) The invitation was created from one of my favorite photographs in sepia, from that earlier Paris trip. For more on that trip, see Christmas Time In Paris.

2) Setting was an intimate fireside seating just past The Grand Del Mar foyer with all of their holiday decorations, grandeur, and holiday tea menu.

3) Special "Parisian" favors were created using a gold sheer bag tied with gold/bronze fleur-de-lys ribbon. Inside the party favors, there were special vintage pink alabaster glass cameo charms from French General, fleur-de-lys chocolates from The Royal Sweet an extraordinary chocolatier out of Georgia, and least but not least, an "April in Paris" sweet pea packet from Renee's Gardens.

4) A few words spoken about how Parisians, and those in the French countryside celebrate their holidays with Pere Noel, and their grand "reveillon" traditional feast.

5) One of our members spoke about "Bachelor's Preserves", and gave everyone a gift-wrapped jar of it and recipe to take home. Bachelor's Preserves is the French technique of preserving summer fruits with liquor.

Picking a theme for a party or event makes planning and creating your event easier, and adds a certain element of surprise. Please share if you have enjoyed "tea" with friends or family around the holidays. Please comment if you have been to Paris at Christmas time.

VintageGardenGal Tidbit Thyme...

VintageGardenGal wishes everyone Happy Holidays!

White iceberg rose is another of my favorite roses, and one that thrives in my Mediterranean Southern California climate. I planted an entire hedge of iceberg roses as an entrance to our syrah vineyard and nearby nestled sitting area. My intention was to create a pleasing color palette for one's eye from our home and surrounding our nearby cozy sitting area. White iceberg rose has an incredible elegance about it with prolific sprays of pure-white blooms with dark green foliage. It makes for a romantic and elegant entrance to our vineyard and the blue ocean horizon beyond. In the above photo, I have planted a climbing iceberg rose up a pillar, and added a vintage bracket ready to hold a lantern with the soft glow of a candle.

Iceberg rose is a popular floribunda rose, and it is now available in pink and burgundy. My favorite is the white. White iceberg roses are often available at retail stores and nurseries at very reasonable prices. The iceberg rose blooms non-stop all summer, is very disease-resistant, is very hardy, and has a subtle sweet rose fragrance. The iceberg rose is as beautiful as a cut flower as it is in your garden. It does best in zones 5-9, and reaches a mature height of 3-4 feet. It looks best in mass plantings, and can be a foundation for your garden.

The climbing white iceberg rose has the same wonderful attributes as the iceberg floribunda. Use it on arbors, fences, pillars, and where ever it can potentially climb. Plant white iceberg rose for romance in your garden.

Please share if you have iceberg rose in your garden. Please comment on how you use iceberg rose in your garden.