Behind a handsome Georgian townhouse in the bustling neighborhood of Islington in central London, garden designer Adam Shepherd transformed a damp, gloomy garden into a lush escape for a young couple with a baby en route.

The only requirements from the owners were that the garden be safe enough for their coming addition and require only minimal maintenance. 

Photographs by James Ross.

Above: Down the center of the garden is a slate walkway with drainage to clear the walk from excess water and prevent too much sogginess closer to the house. 

On either side of the walkway, each main bed is filled with hardy perennials mixed with evergreen hedging. The idea was to create a modern take on the classic English garden—with a central path and double border—inspired by Hidcote Manor (the classic English garden in the north Cotswolds realized by the American horticulturalist Lawrence Johnston).

Adam explains that he tends to design planting plans in his head and in the case of this modern border, the plants are laid out exactly as you might find them in nurseries. He says, “Of course the order and selection is chosen, but the scheme is basically rows of the same plant, layered from front to back with a low planting at the start, taller plants beyond that, and a hedge to break the planting and create a sort of screen." Adam compares garden design to building a theatrical set using "layers or screens, that people or plants can hide behind or jump out from, creating mystery and intrigue.” 

Above: On either side of the path, two Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' trees. For the hedges, Adam used a combination of Taxus, Pittosporum tenuifolium, and Rhododendron ‘Rubicon.’ The perennial plantings include Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Firetail,’ Persicaria affinis ‘Darjeeling Red,’ Tetrapanax papyrifer ‘Rex,’ Digitalis alba, Verbena bonariensis, and Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm.' 

Above: A custom-designed stairway.

The garden stairs were designed by Adam and re-designed and engineered by Bob Hollywood, with whom Adam has worked on a number of projects. An original heavy stone staircase led from the upper terrace—on the roof of the kitchen—to the garden. The clients wanted to keep the roof terrace and its connection to the  garden, but Adam hoped to remove the stairs as they narrowed the garden and blocked light from the kitchen. A compromise was reached by pushing the stairs away from the back of the house and extending the landing while at the same time allowing light through the stairs through the use of perforated stainless steel.

Adam explains that to him, the end result was perfect: “The stairs look and feel very solid, but as you get closer to them they start to disappear and they of course do let light through…magic!” The spindles are powder coated steel, painted the same color as the new kitchen doors and the handrail is Ipe.

Above: Planter boxes do double duty as garden seating.

The wood decking and surrounds of the planter boxes and seating area are made from Ipe. The planters serve both form and function—allowing for additional garden seating and bringing the plants closer to the house, “like a giant outdoor vase.” The planters also serve to break the garden into distinct areas. For Adam, “they’re the first layer in the stage set…creating a visual layer or baffle that means you can’t quite see past them and need to go out and walk into the garden to see what else lies in store.” 

Above: Another view of the staircase and living wall.

A living wall scales the side of the garden on either side of the staircase. Inspired by the famous living walls of French botanist and vertical planting pioneer, Patrick Blanc, Adam has installed five living wall installations to date, and they’re something that he believes will be future of urban garden design. The plants on this wall are hydroponic, living in virtually no soil. Instead, nutrients are supplied via liquid feed that is fully automated so that the clients don’t have to worry about having to maintain it.

Adam says that plant selection for vertical living walls is critical: “The planting plan is designed according to the specific climatic restraints of the location, but I always like to experiment, throwing in a few species I’ve never tried before. Surely this is the whole point of being a designer!” Plants in this wall include evergreens like Fatsia japonica, flowering perennials such as Bergenia ‘Bressingham White’ and Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Firetail,' grasses like Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold', and ferns such as Polystichum setiferums and Asplenium scolopendrium among others.

Above: Above the stone garden wall, a wooden trellis.

The trellis demarcates the barrier between this garden and the next and provides some privacy. It's made of Western Red Cedar and planted with roses and honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica 'Halliana').

For another of Adam's garden walls, see Trend Alert: Black Fences. 

Plans to visit Islington for yourself? See Drink Up: The Draper's Arms on Remodelista.

Some gardens stick with you. In the five months since I first came across the backyard of designer Jessica Helgerson's Library House in Portland, Oregon, in the New York Times, I've found myself returning to Helgerson's website to study the photos frequently. I can't say for sure what draws me: the dramatic black-and-gray color scheme of the facade?

The diamond-paned windows that catch the light?

The peaceful miniature Japanese garden with its own jerry-rigged fountain? 

OK, I'd like to recreate the whole look. So last week I emailed project designer Em Shephard and she generously agreed to reveal her sources (including paint colors):

Above: Photograph by Lincoln Barbour.

Built in 1915, the building is a Craftsman-style cottage previously used both as a church and a library.

Above: The body of the house is painted with a rich gray with warm undertones. The color is Benjamin Moore Iron Mountain at 75 percent. (Thinking of painting your house gray? See Shades of Gray: Architects' Top 10 Paint Picks.)

Above: A similar choice for the gooseneck sconce on the house is a black Original Warehouse Gooseneck Light with a 12-inch shade; $237 from Barn Light Electric.

Above: Photograph via Benjamin Moore.

The door color is an exterior formulation of Benjamin Moore Black Tar and the trim is painted with Farrow & Ball's Pointing, available in an Exterior Eggshell finish.

For more of our favorite black paint colors, see Black Magic: Architects' 8 Top Paint Picks.

 Above: In a textured black finish, a metal Sollos Lighting 8 Inch Dome Hat Path Light is $55.77 from Louie Lighting.

Above: Much of the facade's charm comes from the diamond-paned transom windows. Diamond panes, traditionally associated with Victorian or Tudor style houses, work well with the high-pitched roof (evocative of a Tudor cottage). Many window manufacturers offer diamond grille styles; Andersen Windows' A-Series of customizable windows offers two grille options: full or simulated divided light. For pricing and options, see Andersen Windows.

Another, more expensive option is custom leaded glass diamond paned windows. Santa Clara, CA-based Hyland Studio manufactures traditional leaded glass windows; for information and pricing, see Hyland Studio. 

Above: To recreate the look of the deck, redwood planking is a good choice. Redwood's warm color, combined with its durability (redwood is dense and resistant to rot, insects, water, and fire), explain its popularity as an exterior surface material. It is available in different grades—from construction grade to clear all-heart—and a variety of patterns. For more information and pricing, see Redwood Empire.

Above: Evoking a traditional Japanese Zen garden at the edge of the deck, compact conifers and grasses are widely spaced to make each plant an individual focal point. To recreate the look with a mix of textures and shapes, consider planting evergreen junipers. At (L) Juniperus sabina 'Arcadia' ($49.95 from Nature Hills) is a low growing creeper, and (R) Juniperus chinensis 'Blue Point' will grow vertically in a pyramidal shape ($54.95 from Nature Hills).

Above: Add plants with spiky or variegated leaves to create interest. Both (L) Variegated Mondo Grass ($5AU from AJ Flynn) and (R) Liriope Evergreen Giant ($4.99 AU from Hargraves Nursery) are sturdy, drought-resistant perennials. For US gardeners, White Flower Farms sells Liriope Muscari Variegata (three for $30.45). And a variety of ornamental grasses is available from Georgia-based Mondo Grass.

Above: The water feature in the garden is made from a piece of found pottery fitted with a fountain kit. For a similar look, start with a Round Ceramic Pot (for example, a glazed pot from Asia as shown above; see Sloat's for information and pricing). To convert the pot, you can use a 1-Tier Fountain With Pump Kit, which comes with a reservoir, pump, and fittings and is suitable for containers of up to 4 gallons ($28.44 from Lowe's).

For more of designer Jessica Helgerson's work, see Steal This Look: A Spanish Inspired Black-and-White Kitchen on Remodelista. To recreate more of our favorite exteriors, patios, and facades, browse our Steal This Look archive.

The best place to grow flowers in all of the UK is the Scillies (pronounced "sillies") and farmers there have been doing so for centuries. Today, florists still get their winter supply from these islands in the Atlantic, but anybody can order from the growers online. And in the months from October to April, the scented narcissus is the flower to order, direct from Scilly Flowers.

Photographs by Howard Sooley.

Above: The multi-headed Narcissus tazetta, a genus and species which includes the celebrated 'Paperwhite' cultivar. Scilly growers can be a little sniffy about the single-trumpet, more ubiquitous daff: "We don't use the word 'daffodil,' " says Zoe Julian, Scilly Flower proprietor.

Ben and Zoe Julian are the second generation of their family to operate Scilly Flowers from their 27-acre Churchtown Farm on the island of St Martins. When Andrew Julian moved his family to the island in 1986, after 18 years fighting crime as a police officer in London, he invested the family savings into the Churchtown property and countless narcissus bulbs. The original plan was to supply wholesale flower markets, but the farm suffered through a series of harsh winters that left the business floundering. A decision to rent cottages and stables to vacationers looking for a taste of the subtropics got the family back on their feet. In 1992, the Julians reinvented the flower business as a mail-order flower delivery service they call Scent From The Islands.

Today, a team of 18 permanent, part-time, and seasonal staff help operate the family run flower business, supplying the UK with 90,000 boxes of flowers annually.

Mother's Day in the UK is around the corner on March 30 and there's still time to place an order: A bunch of 100 Scented Narcissi costs £28 from Scilly Flowers. 40 Scented Narcissi are £17 and a Posy Pack of 16 scented narcissi is just £10.50.

Above: The Isles of Scilly provide a unique environment for growing narcissus as the climate is subtropical. In other words, conditions more often associated with regions closer to the equator are replicated here in good old Great Britain. Cornwall, on the tip of southwest England, is only 24 miles to the east, but 24 miles can make all the difference.

Above: Narcissus 'Bishop Rock.'

There are 20 different varieties of narcissi growing on the islands, which keep up a continuous supply from October to April. The first shoots pop up at the end of the summer holidays and by the next holidays in December they are at their height of production. The 'Bishop Rock' (Above) is grown by another grower, Fran Hicks on St. Agnes, the tiniest of the Scillies.

Above: A field of late-winter narcissi.

Narcissus bulbs are stimulated into growth by heat and smoke. The Narcissus tazetta bulb is Mediterranean and the bulbs expect intense heat as well as bush fires. These conditions are recreated at Scilly Flowers in May with the help of plastic sheeting, which warms the bulbs and is used to waft smoke over from fires lit around the parameters. 

Above: Narcissus 'Primo.'

Narcissus tazetta is generally grown for forcing indoors, unless you live in the extreme southwest. "They are very high maintenance flowers," says Zoe. She explains that you can try growing them outdoors further north but they will struggle for a couple of years before giving up.  

Above: Cut stems with unopened florets.

Florets open progressively. The first few to bloom at the top are followed by the opening of heads lower down, extending their vase life.

Above: Cut stems from Scilly Flowers last for about a week but can bloom for longer if kept quite cool. Putting them on the windowsill above a radiator is rushing them along too much.

Above: Narcissi are packed on a carpet-covered table and sent out by first class mail. This involves a boat, from St Martin's to the bigger island of St Mary's, then a plane to England's mainland, and then a train to final destinations. It's quicker than it sounds.

Above: You can visit Scilly Flowers' Churchtown Farm on St Martin's, or even rent one of the Holiday Cottages. If you're interested in a stay on a smaller island, grower Fran Hicks also maintains Holiday Lets on St Agnes.

Legend has it that the thorny thistle once saved Scotland from a marauding Norse army, a feat that earned this tenacious plant its status as a Scottish national symbol. But these days it's staging an invasion of its own, causing people all over the British Isles, and elsewhere, to declare war on this invasive weed.

More's the pity in my opinion, because I rather like the prickly beauty of thistles. Luckily there are some garden-friendly varieties, that with proper care, won't run amok. Here are five of our favorites:

Above: Photographer Francisco Gonzalez captured this quintessential image of Scotland: Scottish thistle in the Highlands. But throughout the world, invasive Scots or Cotton thistles and their cousins threaten native species. Prairies and grasslands in America and Canada are being overrun, and in Australia the problem was so bad that Parliament imposed heavy penalties on those who did not control thistles on their land.

Above: Misty Globe Thistles by Snapp3r.

The gentler cousin to the Scottish thistle, non-invasive Globe Thistles (Echinops ritro) are ideal for the garden. With deep blue or violet orbs perched on silvery stems that are from 2 to 4 feet tall, globe thistles provide a striking architectural and textural element to the garden. Drought resistant, these hardy perennials are also easy to care for. Bees, butterflies, and lady bugs love them too. Hardy in growing zones 3-9. Globe thistles are readily available at most garden nurseries. A 5-Inch Pot Of Blue Glow Globe Thistle is $8.99 at High Country Gardens. 

Above: Image of the Giant Cotton Thistle at Bonnefont Cloister by Peter Roan. 

Giant Cotton Thistle (Onopordum acanthium) was prized during the Middle Ages for its herbal properties, and by the poor who used its fluffy "down" to stuff mattresses. At 10 to 15 feet high with a 5-foot spread, this dramatic biennial is not for small gardens. It benefits from staking and from stony soil (which provides better support for its roots). But note: Giant Cotton Thistle is invasive. To prevent the seeds from scattering to the wind, it is important to cut the heads off after it has flowered. You can also see that, with all those spikes, it should only be handled by gloved hands. Read more about Giant Cotton Thistle on the Cloisters Museum blog.

Above: Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum' by Jean Jones.

Magenta heads atop long, leafless and spike-less stems make ornamental Brook Thistle or Plume Thistle (Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum') an excellent garden choice. Rivulare literally means "growing by a stream," and this perennial prefers moist, yet well-drained ground; fertile, slightly acidic soil, and full sun. Cut back after early summer flowers to promote another flowering, and then to the ground after the last bloom in the fall. Though popular in Europe, this cirsium is pretty rare stateside, so you'll get points for originality with this one. A 1-Gallon Pot Of Cirsium Rivulare 'Atropurpureum' is available at Far Reaches Farm for $15.

Above: Globe Artichoke flower by Stan Malone.

Last year, Michelle discovered that artichokes are members of the thistle family, Asteroideae, as well. (See A Thistle That Won't Misbehave.) Though its wild counterpart artichoke thistle is invasive, stately Globe Artichokes (Cynara cardunculus) and their cardoon cousins make a dramatic statement in the garden, and, of course, they can be eaten as well. (With cardoons, you eat the stem, which is said to taste like a celery artichoke medley.) Artichokes and cardoons prefer lots of sun and rich, well-drained soil. To build up a plant's strength, during the first year cut off the heads as soon as they appear. Replace the entire crop every four years. Both grow well from seeds: Rouge d'Alger Cardoon ($3 for 25 seeds) and the stunning Purple Of Romagna Artichoke ($2.50 for 25 seeds) are both available at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. For more information, refer to this extremely thorough article from The Daily Mail.

Above: Not really a thistle at all (actually a distance relative of the carrot family), Sea Holly (Eryngium), is often considered a worthy thistle stand-in. I love it for my seaside garden, where it endures not only drought and poor soil, but also salty air. About the only care it requires is deadheading to encourage additional blooming. Available at many garden centers or online through Nature Hills Nursery; a 5-inch pot of "Blue Glitter" Sea Holly is $24.95. Image by Audrey.

N.B. Thistles and Sea Holly also dry well for use in winter arrangements and crafts. One of my favorites is Erin's Black Thistle Bouquet. Thistle lovers without the grounds to cultivate them may still surround themselves with Thistle Wallpaper from Timorous Beasties.

Can you name one potted plant that wouldn't look great peeking over the edge of a galvanized metal trough? Me either.

And let us not forget this is the sort of planter that improves with age. Sturdy, rust-resistant, and long-suffering, a galvanized planter develops a soft gray patina—the perfect foil for all shades of green leaves. We've rounded up ten of our favorite galvanized metal trough planters:

Above: Dating from the 1920s through the 1940s, these Vintage Galvanized Bathtub Planters originally were used as laundry washtubs. Each one-of-a-kind tub (salvaged from Central Europe) is approximately 32 inches long; $149.95 apiece from Williams-Sonoma.

Above: A 30-inch-long Galvanized Metal Planter Box is 9 inches high. Made of iron, it's rust resistant; $59 from Pottery Barn.

Above: Made of 24-gauge steel, a 48-inch-long Galvanized Trough Planter has a slim profile at only 5 inches wide and 4 inches deep. Suitable for indoor or outdoor use, it's $128 from Terrain.

Above: A Galvanized Steel Balcony Box has two drainage holes and vertical grooves for added stability against wind. Available in two lengths, 69.5 and 89.5 centimeters, prices range from 25.5€ to 37€ from Manufactum.

Above: Embossed with a filigree pattern, a Galvanized Window Trough is available in two lengths, 70 and 76.5 centimeters, at prices ranging from £19.99 to £24.99 from Crocus.

Above: An Oscar Rectangular Metal Rail Planter measures 23.75 inches long and hooks over a balcony railing; it is $21.95 from CB2.

Above: Available in three sizes—at lengths including 40, 60, and 80 centimeters—a weather-resistant Trough Planter in Galvanised steel is available for from £16.50 to £20 from Garden Trading Company.

Above: An Oblong Galvanized Tub with metal handles has a pressed steel bottom and a capacity to hold 3.75 gallons; it is $14 from Amazon.

Above: A Galvanized Oval Planter has a lip, folded over, of grainy metal; it measures 20 inches long by 6 inches deep and 7.5 inches high and is $45 from Bliss Home.

Above: For indoor use only, a windowsill Galvanized Planter with metal handles measures 11 inches long by 4.5 inches deep and 3.75 inches high; is $7.99 from Target.

And then there are gigantic galvanized troughs you can use as bathtubs. See Outdoors: Galvanized Tubs on Remodelista.

Thinking about spring window boxes? See our favorites at 10 Easy Pieces: Wooden Window Boxes and 10 Easy Pieces: Metal Window Boxes.

It's easy to wax romantic about flowers. But a two-day spring workshop with some of the most admired talents in the business really does sound dreamy. For two days in May, stylist-extraordinaire Ginny Branch will team up with florist Ashley Bailey to lead a floral and styling workshop at Mandy and Steve O’Shea's organic 3 Porch Farm outside of Athens, Georgia. Offered through CAMP Workshops, they're calling the retreat The Language of Flowers.

Photographs by Haley Sheffield.

Above: Flowers arranged by Ashley and styled by Ginny in an 1890s farmhouse.

To me it sounds like a full-fledged floral extravaganza. Students will receive "seed to stem" lessons in the world of flowers from Ashley and Mandy, including a farm tour and lessons covering everything from seasonality to floral care to developing techniques for building wild and beautiful bouquets.

Photographer Jen Causey will be on hand to photograph student work and offer photography tips, and Rinne Allen will teach a special course on how to create cyanotypes using flowers and foraged botanicals from the farm.

In addition to hands-on floral arranging lessons, students will get practical advice from Ginny on how to style still-life flowers for shoots using different surfaces, backgrounds, and supporting props. Ginny will offer tips and tricks for getting work published including clues about what art directors and editors look for in floral editorials. 

The Language of Flowers Workshop is May 11 to 13, just outside of Athens, Georgia. Details below.

THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS WORKSHOP

Cost: $2,500/person**

Instructors: Ashley Bailey & Ginny Branch | 3 Porch Farm | Rinne Allen | Jen Causey

Date: May 11-13

Location: 3 Porch Farm, Athens, GA

Class Limit: 12 students

**All supplies, breakfasts, lunches, and farewell dinner are included in the workshop price. There is a block of rooms at a hotel in Athens for the workshop attendees. Attendees are responsible for booking their rooms and must do so by April 21. Each guest is responsible for hotel, airfare, and shuttle service to the hotel in Athens, GA. A shuttle service will be provided from the hotel to the farm each day. There are no refunds given for cancellations. 

For more from Ginny and the CAMP Workshops, see A Guide to Intimate Gatherings from the CAMP Workshops.

Though there's green in nearly every garden, we love it when the color gets a solo show. Here, we gathered ten gardens from members of the Remodelista + Gardenista Architect/Designer Directory featuring shades of green, front and center.

Above: In this Brooklyn garden by Kim Hoyt Architect, a fieldstone walkway is planted with creeping thyme and other ground cover plants. See the entire project in Before & After: A Brooklyn Townhouse with a Double-Wide Garden. Photograph by Dan Wonderly.

Above: A stone pathway looks both ordered and wild in this Bridgehampton, New York garden by Gunn Landscape Architecture. Find more from Gunn in Expert Advice: 10 Best Low-Maintenance Houseplants.

Above: We love the layers upon layers of green in this garden from Greenwich, Connecticut-based Doyle Herman Design Associates. Another image from this extravagant project starts off our roundup in The Grandes Dames: 10 Stately Gardens from the Gardenista Gallery.

Above: Beacon, NY-based Susan Wisniewski Landscape filled this sprawling Hudson Valley farm with gardens that look like they've been there forever. See more from the designer in The Grandes Dames: 10 Stately Gardens from the Gardenista Gallery.

Above: A row of grasses divides the lawn from the terrace in this Vermont residential garden by Wagner Hodgson. Photograph by Westphalen Photography. 

Above: For the garden of this Connecticut country home, NYC-based Robin Key Landscape Architecture chose green shrubs and perennials for their deer resistance. Photograph by Francine Fleischer.

Above: NYC-based Rumsey Farber removed hundreds of invasive plants on this Greenwich, Connecticut property and replaced them with native trees and shrubs to protect a nearby low-lying wetland.

Above: Water flows through a woodland understory in this St. David's, Pennsylvania garden designed by Stephen Stimson Associates. Learn more about Stimson's work on Remodelista in Required Reading: Ten Landscapes by Stephen Stimson Associates. Photograph by Rob Cardillo.

Above: Hess Landscape Architects embraced the woodland surrounding this Villanova, Pennsylvania home that was once the domestic quarters of an historic estate. The property transitions from house to woodland via a generously planted garden with meandering pathways. Photograph by Stephen Govel.

Above: NYC-based landscape designer and artist Paula Hayes filled this seaside garden with mostly native, monochromatic plants, designed in collaboration with Edmund Hollander Landscape Architects and Cook + Fox Architects. See more of Hayes' work on Gardenista in Let Twilight Linger: 10 Early Evening Gardens from the Gardenista Gallery. Photograph by Béatrice de Géa.

Find more green in Seeing Green: Architects Pick the Best Exterior Green Paints; Fields of Green: 5 Favorite Lawn Substitutes; and, on Remodelista, Paints & Palettes: Modern Green. 

The closest thing to gardening experience that renowned plantswoman Helen Dillon had before starting her legendary garden was working as a junior staffer at Amateur Gardening magazine in England at age 22. She ran errands for famous British gardeners, "and then at the end of the day," says Dillon, "you'd get what you were waiting for—a cutting of one of their plants."

For the next 40 years, Dillon nurtured her backyard garden in Dublin, wrote several gardening books—including Down To Earth With Helen Dillon—and eventually became what House & Garden calls "the undisputed queen of Irish gardening."

Today, we're visiting her colorful Dublin garden.

Photographs by Rachel Ryvar courtesy of Garden Improvements except where noted.

Above: Helen Dillon's garden in full bloom in July. Photograph courtesy of the Dillon Garden.

After working at Amateur Gardening, Dillon became an antiques dealer, married, and moved to Dublin. There, behind the Georgian townhouse she shared with her husband, she began planting what would become her namesake garden. 

Above: Another view of Dillon's full-to-brimming space.

Dillon does not subscribe to any one gardening style and loves that her tastes are constantly changing. "Creative things happen when you're not thinking about something; you're just playing," Dillon says of her time in the garden.

Above: Dillon is known for creating flower borders of organized chaos. Photograph courtesy of the Dillon Garden.

Once a devotee of strict, color-themed borders, she learned to loosen up: "I remember when Christopher Lloyd came here 15 years ago," she says, "and he said very politely, with a glint in his eye, 'Don't you ever feel like putting a little bit of blue in the red border, and a little red in the blue border?'" (Read about Lloyd's garden in Garden Visit: Great Dixter.) 

Above: The garden has undergone countless variations over the last 40 years. A previous version featured not only neatly color-themed borders, but also a pristine, high-maintenance lawn. ("I had never seen such a beautiful or more perfect lawn," says blogger Michael B. Gordon.) Dillon tore out the lawn and replaced it with a pond and canal set in Irish limestone.

Above: The garden features a small greenhouse in which Dillon grows warm-weather flowers.

Above: A relatively new addition to the garden: an all-green grouping—most from the Aralia family—planted in gravel.

Above: One of Dillon's signature looks: plants growing in galvanized trash bins. Photograph courtesy of the Dillon Garden.

Above: Blue delphiniums in bloom in summer and rosa 'Rhapsody in Blue' beneath. Photograph courtesy of the Dillon Garden. 

Above: Helen Dillon is not sentimental about removing plants from her garden. "Good gardening is a constant process of editing," says Dillon. "Really what it boils down to is not what you put in, it's what you take out."

Above: Among the flowers in Dillon's garden are dahlias, cannas, lythrum, fuchsias, alliums, sweet rocket, geums, alstroemerias, trilliums, and poppies.

Above: The garden is more formal at the far end of the reflecting pool, where it features trimmed hedges and an ivy-covered arbor. 

Above: The Dillon Garden is located at 45 Sandford Terrace in Dublin. It's open to the public from Monday to Sunday, from 2 to 6 pm, in March, July, and August. The garden is open on Sundays only during April, May, June and September. Entrance is 5€ per person. Visit the Dillon Garden for more information. 

For more from Ireland, see Architect Visit: An Irish Stone Stable on a Dramatic Landscape; Steal This Look: Irish Cottage Garden; and, on Remodelista, Guard Tillman Pollock in Ireland. 

Artificial grass has come a long way since the first AstroTurf carpeted the Houston Astrodome in 1966. With a drought underway in California, it's no wonder I'm noticing more homes with fake turf in my neighborhood. Or not noticing: I just learned that one neighbor (whose yard I've always admired) actually replaced her lawn with artificial turf several years ago. How did fake grass get so good at fooling us?

These days, there's a lot to like about fake grass. In addition to its environmentally friendly stance of requiring no water, its texture and appearance have improved. My own soccer-playing daughter recently told me she likes playing on artificial turf more than on natural grass. Not only does the ball bounce correctly, there's also no mud, no ruts, and no itchy skin allergies (the only downside was what she called "turf-burn").

Is fake grass for you? Here's a crash course in artificial turf:

Above: Too much shade and too much maintenance were reasons owners of a townhouse in Manhattan's West Village chose a lawn of artificial grass instead. Photograph via Foras Studio.

What is artificial grass?

Artificial turf is made from a mixture of polymers (plastics), which make up the grass, combined with infill of sand and/or ground-up rubber to make it soft and shock absorbent.  Invented in 1964, it was first developed as a solution for dome-covered athletic fields which did not have enough sunlight to support natural grass. While it continues to be largely used for athletic fields, with recent advancements its use has moved quickly into commercial and residential landscaping.

Above: Artificial turf can serve as a permeable break between flagstones. Photograph courtesy of Conservation Grass.

As with fabrics, there are varying types of artificial turfs available at different price points. Quality is based on the number of yarns or blades of grass per square inch, whether or not there are different blade heights, and how seams are treated. Some types use different colored poly or nylon yarns to create a base of "thatch."

How is artificial grass installed?

Above: Installing artificial grass is like laying carpet; you want to stretch it tightly atop a secure base and hide the seams. Installers use a variety of products. A perimeter of (Top L) Bender Board can create a solid edge. A platform of plastic (Bottom L) PDS Drainage Tiles can lift turf above wet surfaces. (Top R) Staples close seams and (Bottom R) Spikes along the perimeter keep edges flat. For more, see Easy Turf.

Many companies specialize in the installation of artificial turf, but it is also possible to do it yourself. The material is usually laid above a base of decomposed granite from 3 to 4 inches deep, with a weed barrier. Different manufacturers use different seam treatments (the goal is to make the seams invisible). As with carpet, artificial turf is cut to fit during installation (the fewer seams the better), then nailed into place. Sand (or crumbed rubber, if it's an athletic field) is then applied as an infill.

Above: Photograph via Landscape Ideas.

How much does artificial grass cost?

The price varies according to area, but it is not inexpensive. Depending on the size, conditions, and type of turf, the cost can run  from $10 to $20 per square foot, installed. Compared to natural grass, it will take from seven to eight years of no water and low maintenance to recoup the initial cost of artificial turf.  

The Home Depot carries (L) RealGrass Deluxe Artificial Grass in 15-foot sections for $51.15 each. Crumb Rubber (R) is available for 17 cents per pound from Tire Recycling.

If you have artificial grass professionally installed, most installers will have a particular brand they prefer to use or use exclusively. Some manufacturers include: Synlawn, based in Georgia with distributors throughout the United States; Forever Lawn, a Dupont company based in New Mexico; Turf Direct, with distributors in California and Arizona; ProGreen, Conservation Grass, based in North Texas, and Royal Grass, a company based in the UK with a Florida distributor.  

What are the best places to install artificial grass?

Above: With four active children and a dog, my Mill Valley neighbor enthusiastically endorses her low-maintenance lawn. During rainy months, she doesn't have to worry about little feet tracking mud into the house. Photograph by Ellen Jenkins.

Artificial turf is a good solution if you have an area where grass simply won't grow because conditions are too shady, wet, acidic, or overused. Adam Balckwelder, a landscaper in Marin County, CA, has used it successfully under redwoods, for a bocci court, and for dog runs ( certain types of turf are made specifically for dogs). He says to keep in mind it does heat up under full sun, though some types have been developed to mitigate that problem.

How do you take care of artificial grass and how long will it last?

A synthetic lawn has the advantage over natural grass of never needing water (not to mention weeding, mowing, or fertilizing), but it still needs to be sprayed clean and occasionally disinfected (it does not have the self-sanitizing properties of natural grass). If you have dogs, it needs to be cleaned more often.

Synthetic turf comes with a warranty of from eight to 15 years, which is usually how long it lasts, as well. If you are having it installed professionally, it would be a good idea to ask if there are recycling facilities that handle artificial turf. Some turf manufacturers have developed ways to separate the infill (sand or rubber) from the turf, allowing the material to be recycled. 

Above: Artificial turf creates an instant lawn on a small urban balcony. Photograph via Fennel and Fern.

Artificial Grass Recap

Pros:

• Saves water.
• Similar to natural grass: soft, even, and green.
• Unlike natural grass: requires no weeding, mowing, or fertilizing.
• Does not get muddy or rutted (and keeps your house cleaner).

Cons:

• Expensive.
• Not easily recycled.
• Heats up in direct sun.
• Can cause "turf-burn" (abrasions).
• Not self-sanitizing like natural grass, needs to be cleaned off with water and sanitizing agents.

See what happened when Sarah's Napa Neighbors Installed a Fake Lawn. Are you choosing materials for a remodeling project? Browse our other Hardscaping 101 posts. Want to rip up your lawn altogether? See Fields of Green: 5 Lawn Substitutes.

Bold green shutters against a neutral-colored house is a look that has stood the test of time. The combination varies widely, so we sourced ten of our favorites. If you're considering the color combo on your own home (and you should), here's where to start: 

Swatch photographs by Meredith Swinehart.

Above: Benjamin Moore's Lafayette Green is a close approximation of the window frames and shutter doors in this tropically themed house. Photograph courtesy of Bellan and a Blog.

Above: Farrow & Ball calls Green Smoke "an uncertain green/blue/gray color" and notes that it was popular in the latter half of the 19th century. We like it as a match for the color of these aging green shutters. Photograph courtesy of BlokkStox.

Above: We suggest Ace Paints in Easy Green to recreate the look of the green shutters on Blackwell's bookstore in Oxford. Photograph courtesy of Anna Espinal-Rae.

Above: The olive green shutter and demi-johns in this image make for the perfect French vignette. We suggest Pratt & Lambert's Olive Shadow to recreate the look. Photograph courtesy of Un Coeur en Provence.

Above: Ace Paints' apropriately named Shutter Green is our pick for these dark green shutters against a white colonial. Photograph courtesy of Brooke Ryan.

Above: For the shutters on this Santa Barbara house by architect Marc Appleton, try Sherwin-Williams' Yew Hedge. The color has been discontinued but can still be mixed on request. Photograph courtesy of Architectural Digest.

Above: These full-height shutter doors in the French Quarter of New Orleans are painted in a hue similar to Benjamin Moore's Cedar Path. Photograph courtesy of Tara Bradford.

Above: For the paler green shutters on this Mediterranean facade, try Benjamin Moore's Central Park. Photograph courtesy of The French Tangerine.

Above: Pratt & Lambert Clover could approximate these shutters in Monbazillac, in the Aquitaine region of France. Photograph courtesy of Mufidah Kassalias.

Above: We like Farrow & Ball's Arsenic to mimic the tropical green shutters on this cottage at Carillon Beach on Florida's Gulf Coast. Photograph courtesy of Southern Hospitality.

Looking for more exterior paint inspiration? See our posts on the best exterior paints in Red; Green; Black; Gray; and White.

I think most of us will agree that there's no more pleasant spot to spend an afternoon working than in the garden. But for many of us, moving a desk, chair, and personal library into the garden would be too much of a leap. If you dream of a garden office but haven't yet commissioned one, you'll take vicarious pleasure in the writer's shed that architects Weston Surman & Deane designed for an author and illustrator in London.

The architect team worked with the client to build a backyard escape: "Drawing on the historically intimate relationship between writers and their sheds, the space was conceived as a haven in the city; a fairy-tale hut at the bottom of the garden where the client could retreat and immerse himself in his work."

For more on the writer's life, see another Perfect Writing Shed in the Garden.

Photographs by Wai Ming Ng.

Above: The garden shed, completed last spring. The architects acted as designers, project managers, site managers, and lead contractors, allowing the firm to deliver an ambitious design within a limited timeframe and budget.

Above: Oiled OSB and painted pine tongue and groove flooring were used throughout the shed. 

Above: A wood stove sits atop a hearth of cut concrete paving slabs and is flanked by custom bookshelves designed to store the client's large book collection.

Above: A closeup of the bookshelves and horizontal window.

Above: Garden taps above a porcelain sink make a space for the illustrator to clean his paint brushes and keep his work space tidy.

Above: The offset pitch of the roof allowed the architects the opportunity to include a north-facing skylight above the client's desk.

Above: Seen from the outside, the north-facing wall of skylights (Right) on the slanted roof and a bespoke sliding door and frameless windows (Left) flood the artist's workspace with natural light.

Above: Firewood for fueling the stove stacked against the cedar shingles of the shed.

Above: The back-lit cedar facade glows with warm light in the early evening.

For another project using cedar shingles, see Summer Living in Montauk on Remodelista.

Satisfied to spend the day looking at Garden Sheds? We can help.

In the early 1980s Juan Montoya, an interior designer based in New York, had tired of Manhattan's concrete jungle and the disconnect he felt from the subtleties of the seasons. So he went looking for a refuge outside the city. Having grown up in the countryside in Bogota, Columbia he was yearning to reconnect with nature. After falling for places out of his budget, Montoya asked his realtor to show him a property that was considered less desirable. The 110-acre property was located in Garrison, NY, a hamlet an hour north of Manhattan on the eastern shores of the Hudson River, with hilly, rocky, woodland terrain, a charming train station, but no real town.

When Montoya saw the majestic property and dilapidated house in Garrison, it was love at first sight. He called it La Formentera after the small Spanish island where he lived for a year in the 1970s, and has spent the next 30 years crafting an idyllic woodland retreat in the lower Hudson Valley.

Photographs by Eric Piasecki.

Above: A beautifully designed serpentine path, made from the local granite, leads to Montoya's rebuilt house.

All that's really left of the original house is where it sits on the land. Montoya was impressed with the way it was situated in the woods, every room taking advantage of the light and views. And for two years he studied the land and trees before even considering making a change to the property.

Above: A delightful natural trail alongside the pond looks like it was always there. The property is filled with oak, white birch, and chestnut trees to name only a few of the species on the property—a combination of old-growth and recently planted specimens. 

Montoya wasn't interested in imposing a garden on the property that didn't relate to its intrinsic qualities. With respect to the land, he slowly began the process of carving out spaces in the woodland; adding stone walls and paths to guide the eye and carefully placing sculpture to act as focal points. Much effort goes into the care of the trees—pruning, adding, and taking away. Montoya looks at the land much as he does his work, as an artist. His love of green is evident in the texturing and patterning he's created using plants of different hues. The only flowers allowed on the property are white so as not to detract from all of the brilliant greens.  

A few years ago, as Montoya looked out over the property that he cares for, he decided it was time to document what was there. He invited photographer Eric Piasecki to capture it throughout the seasons. Together they created an impressive book with Monacelli Press, with a foreword by Karen Lehrman Bloch. The full-page color images allow readers to drift away into Montoya's elegant verdant world. La Formentera: The Woodland Refuge of Juan Montoya is $65 from Monacelli Press. 

Above: A 3-acre pond with an island, that Montoya created by damming the brook on his property, is more like a lake and is the central feature of the landscape.

Above: Oversized terra cotta pots with ferns in the lower level courtyard, is a simple, elegant gesture that adds layers but doesn't detract from the overall experience. 

Above: Montoya likes the sculptural quality of boxwood and its deep green hue. It could look out of place—too formal in this type of landscape—but he has dotted large areas in a seemingly random pattern that adds visual interest and a resting spot for the eye.

Above: A monolith sculpture made of local stone acts as a focal point on the east side of the pond.

Above: A view across the pond to the boxwood hillside.

Above: After years of swimming in the pond with the snapping turtles and trout, Montoya added the pool. Its floor has a geometric pattern inspired from a royal palace in Stockholm. The oversized outdoor fireplace is a mortar-free structure built of local stone.

For more from Hudson Valley, browse Remodelista's archive.

Or get lost in our Architects' Roundup: 10 Emerald Green Gardens.

Fancy yourself a city slicker? See Landscape Architect Visit: A Living Wall in London for an urban oasis.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day this past Monday, we spent the week chasing rainbows and four-leaf clovers. Green took center stage, we took a tour of the queen of Irish gardening's Dublin retreat, Kendra showed us the world's best narcissi, and Christine let us in on the latest in British lawn adornments.

We'll be celebrating the arrival of spring some more next week. Until then, take a look at what else we've had on our radar.

• Above: An Irish ceramicist with a green thumb. 
• How to light the way. 
• Garden-friendly weeds (Yes, you read that right). 

• Above: If flowers could talk. Photograph by Haley Sheffield. 
• Muted greens in the attic. 
• New Yorkers: hire an indie gardener.    

• Above: A Helsinki hideaway. Photograph by Tuomas Uusheimo. 
• Moody hues and refracted light. 
• A fine weekend recipe. 

• Above: A London wall that breathes. 
• Four ways to keep the heat in. 
• Do or don't: fake grass.

For more from this week on Gardenista, see the In the Clover issue. And don't miss British Isles on Remodelista (for the definition of a bolt-hole and a rally to resurrect the larder). 

While we've been ambling in clover patches and generally relishing all things green, the editors over at Remodelista have spent the week bopping around the British Isles. Here's how they caught our attention:

Meredith's gaze has been cast seaward. In a week when all we've seen is green, she sleuthed six coastline-inspired blues for this week's Palette & Paints. Excuse us, while we head to the coast.

In the potting shed, or in the kitchen, we're suckers for open shelving. Julie spotted 11 covetable examples in The Open Larder.

Out of Northern Ireland, a new line of stools for the Working Girl. We'll take two.

Cheap fix or health hazard? You decide in Remodeling 101: The Ins and Outs of Plywood.

From mid-February to June, Alexa's plagued by seasonal allergies, so she's taken matters into her own hands and crafted a stylish Tissue Box Disguise. May we also suggest a post of Allergy Tea?

The other day, celebrating a rare and much longed for day of warmth and sunshine here in Brooklyn, I treated myself to a trip to the Bronx, to the New York Botanical Garden. While most people go this time of the year for the annual orchid show, my purpose was to catch an exhibit of photographs in the Botanical Garden's Ross Gallery where the work of noted landscape photographer and journalist Allan Pollok-Morris was on display.

The exhibit is over now, but you can still relish the dramatic images and find inspiration for your own garden by treating yourself to Pollok-Morris's book: Close: Landscape Design and Land Art in Scotland ($37.92 from Amazon). Expect a surprising guided tour of Scotland led by someone who loves gardens and has a discerning eye for art in harmony with nature. The frontispiece is a map with the locations of all the places Pollok-Morris visited. The chapter titles are their latitudes. As you read, you go north. Don't expect to discover a distinctive "Scottish" style. The gardens and art here are remarkably diverse. Pollok-Morris says he was guided by instinct and was drawn to those places which have "a sense of something you haven't experienced before or that leave you with a different sense of place." 

While there is plenty of sunshine in these pictures, more frequently the light is gloomy (the sky a low, roiling gray mass), evidence that the climate in Scotland is harsh and the creators of these gardens are tough, even defiant. It is a feature of this photographer's work that his pictures seem to capture living moments. Like the gardens themselves, they seem to be in flux, not frozen in time. The labyrinth on the beach, the cairn in a field, the letterbox by a stream; it's as if we're out on a hike and we round a new bend where Allan Pollok-Morris points out something unexpected and amazing. 

Photographs by Allan Pollok-Morris.

Above: Charles Jencks uses the land as a raw material in his work "Cells of Life" at Jupiter Artland, a sculpture garden on the grounds of Bonnington House in Edinburgh.

Above: The Keyhole driveway at Dunbeath Castle, a project of designer Xa Tollemache. The castle dates from the 1400s and sits high on a cliff in the far North East of Scotland, where winds frequently reach 100 miles per hour.

Above: Naturalistic planting of echinops and helenium reflects the style of head gardener Elliott Forsyth at the Cambo Estate near St Andrews.  

Above: A rainy day in Little Sparta, the garden near Edinburgh, designed by the late artist, poet, philosopher, gardener, and landscape designer Ian Hamilton Finlay. Little Sparta was voted the most important work of art in Scotland and served as an inspiration for Close.

For more, see Required Reading: Little Sparta in Words and Pictures.

Above: Grass and granite labyrinth designed by Arabella Lennox-Boyd in front of Maggie's Cancer Caring Center in Dundee. The building was designed by Frank Gehry and is part of Ninewells Hospital. 

Above: Anthony Gormley statue "Firmament" at Jupiter Artland.

Above: Artist Gerald Laing enjoying the water feature of his garden in the Highlands.

Above: Stone cairn in Penpont by sculptor Andy Goldsworthy.  

Above: Close: Landscape Design and Land Art in Scotland by Allan Pollok-Morris is $37.92 from Amazon.

For further reading, see The Poet in His Garden Ian Hamilton Finlay in Scotland.

To grow a little bit of Scotland in your own garden, consider the thistle. See 5 Favorites: Garden-Friendly Thistles.

"You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming" is how Pablo Neruda put it. And for that thought alone, he deserved his Nobel Prize for Literature.

This week we welcome spring's arrival enthusiastically (yes, that was me you spotted doing a little caper over at Julie's house after spotting her lilacs in bloom). We'll have an exclusive look at a Michigan garden with gorgeous drifts of naturalized daffodils; Meredith's top picks for eco-friendly stains, and Justine's step-by-step instructions for creating the perfect spring bouquet.

Above: Table of Contents is a new Monday column to fill you in on what's coming up every week on Gardenista.

Monday

Above: We'll be visiting a Michigan summer house where fields of daffodils greet spring in this week's Landscape Architect Visit. (Bonus: we found out exactly how they built those gabion basket walls.) Photograph via Kettelkamp & Kettelkamp.

Tuesday

Above: Hexagonal slate siding; where do you find something like that? Erin reveals all in this week's Steal This Look. Photograph via Gundry & Ducker.

Wednesday

Above: Ranunculus, lilacs, sweetpeas, and more: Justine's DIY Bouquet is an ode to spring. Follow her step-by-step instructions to create your own. Photograph by Justine Hand.

Thursday

Above: In this week's Hardscaping 101, Ellen dives into and demystifies picket fencing: everything you need to know to about styles, heights, types of wood (and a little history). Photograph by Michelle Slatalla.

Friday

Above: Most farm and garden stores don’t sell chicks. This week, our Shopper's Diary offers an exclusive look at a Bay Area store where high-pitched peeps are the first thing you hear when you open the door. Rare breeds and prolific egg layers can both be found here. By the way, that's a Rhode Island Red (L) and a Golden Sex Link (R). Photograph by Liesa Johannssen for Gardenista.

Wondering what's going on this week at Remodelista? Check out the Table of Contents there, as well. 

It's the classic Midwestern summerhouse. And spring house. And winter house, come to think of it. For clients who wanted a yearround family retreat in southwestern Michigan's Berrien county (which hugs the shore of Lake of Michigan), Evanston, Illinois-based landscape architects Kettelkamp & Kettelkamp took advantage of rolling terrain and picturesque woodlands to create a connection between the house and its environs.

The house, designed by architect Dan Wheeler, has a steeply pitched gable roof and sliding barn doors on the garage. "It's a classic Midwest vernacular house," says architect Ryan A.  Kettelkamp.

Echoing the strong rectangular lines of the house, "we built everything in the landscape off that same grid," says Kettelkamp. The landscape project was done in two phases; the first phase involved hardscape—gravel paths, wood fencing, and permeable pavement for the driveway— to complement the house. "The clients liked the results so much that they then purchased a second lot, another acre, and we did a second phase to carve spots out of the woodland," says Kettelkamp.

Photographs via Kettelkamp & Kettelkamp.

Above: Naturalized daffodils surround the house. "We ordered them in bulk and then we just broadcast them in big drifts," says Kettelkamp. 

The gabion basket walls were built using standard stock panels of wire from American Wire Products. "They sell these big individual panels of wire and you wire them together to make baskets," says Kettelkamp. A compacted 1-foot-thick layer of gravel is spread beneath the wire frames, he said: "Then you fill the baskets with whatever you want. We knew about some concrete roads that were being ripped up nearby. We recycled the crushed concrete to fill the baskets.

"The nifty thing is you couldn’t build a garden wall like that. It looks like the clients dropped hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars on those walls. But because theses walls do not require foundation, it’s a very economical way of building old-fashioned garden walls," says Kettelkamp. "The cost of labor is minimal in comparison to building traditional New England fieldstone walls."

Above: In Phase Two of the project, more drifts of daffodils were planted in the reclaimed woodlands. "What you can see in the photo is that the naturalized daffodils are all planted with day lilies. This solves the problem of daffodil foliage, which stays forever after the flowers bloom," says Kettelkamp. "Day lily foliage looks very similar. As the daffodils die down, the day lilies come up. The interplanting hides the daffodil foliage when it starts to look ratty."

Above: The driveway is permeable turf block pavers planted with crowns of grass. To construct the driveway, "we poured a concrete picture frame, a 1-foot-wide band, all the way around the area," says Kettelkamp. "Then we laid the diamond pattern on the bias, so it squares up onto the grid."

The trick, when planting grass in the pockets, is to set the soil level low. "The product can look bad on many jobs, and we asked ourselves why, and the answer is that when landscapers or people are installing it, they frequently set the level of soil in the little pockets too high. Then the crown of grass is up to the level of the car's wheels, which kill the grass when they drive over it."

Above: The soil level well below the level of concrete so the crown of each individual grass plant is protected. "Even if a car is parked right on top, the tire is supported by the paver, and the crown of the grass plant is below," says Kettelkamp.

Above: Hydrangeas change color based on the pH level of the soil. The more alkaline the soil, the pinker the flowers. So how does this clump of hydrangeas manage to produce both pink and blue flowers?

"There are pockets of both alkaline and acidic soil under that bush, and flowers bloom in that huge mixture of colors as a result," says Kettelkamp. "It gives them a confetti appearance that looks fantastic."

N.B.: Want to tinker with the color of your hydrangeas? See Magic Trick: How to Make Your Hydrangeas Change Color.

Above: The pool house shed is a freestanding building and has a louvered top; it "looks like a small agricultural building," says Kettelkamp.

Above: All the paths, terraces, and pavers on the property are broom finished concrete, says Kettelkamp. Slabs of concrete edge the pool. "We let lawn grass run into the gaps between the slabs," says Kettelkamp.

The wading pool is a narrow 4-foot-wide linear strip of pool that surrounds the terrace like a moat.

Above: The firepit, made of concrete, is a garden destination. "Part of our task was activating parts of the landscape that might not otherwise be used," says Kettelkamp. A dense thicket of buckthorn and other underbrush was cleared to create the firepit area.

Above: The gabion basket walls are topped with caps of poured concrete.

Above: The height of the gabion walls is the same all over the property, although the slope of the land itself changes. The effect is "really fun, and allows you to really see the change in elevation," says Kettelkamp. "If you set the wall tops dead level, the ground goes up and down and exposes bits and pieces of the walls."

Considering a gabion wall? See How to Transform An Abandoned Parking Lot into a Wildlife Habitat, Marfa Edition or A Smart Modern House, Meadow View Included for more inspiration.

With spring's arrival comes a nagging realization that we should be outdoors weeding, digging, fertilizing, staking, and generally cleaning up the debris from winter. So our thoughts naturally turn to ... sitting indoors with a cup of tea and looking at pretty photos on an iPad or iPhone. How productive does that sound?

We're rounded up ten gardening apps to help you design, plant, and ID everything that's lurking in your garden. Download them now. Then get to work outdoors (next week).

Above: ID plants and flowers with Leafsnap. Photograph by Michelle Slatalla.

Garden Plan Pro, $9.99 from Growing Interactive

Updated by its developers last month, this iPad garden design app allows you to lay out a kitchen garden in any size (or shape) plot and "add" plants. The app offers full growing information on 140 kinds of fruits, vegetables, and herbs (and their many varieties) and will calculate how many plants will fit into your garden. Last year our reviewer Jeanne Rostaing wrote of an earlier version: "Fortunately there is a video tutorial to get you started, because the app has many features and, on first look, does not seem intuitive." Newly released Version 1.0.12 is an update recommended for all users; it fixes glitches in how the support screen looks. 

MySoil, free from British Geological Survey

For UK and European gardeners, MySoil offers everything you want to know about the composition of your local soil. "Descriptions of soil depth, texture, pH, soil temperature, organic matter content, and dominant habitats" are mapped across the UK. For other European gardeners, the app offers information about "soil parent material and access soil depth, texture. and dominant habitats. Users are encouraged to upload photos and details about local soil conditions to enrich the database. Compatible with iPhone and iPad; requires iOS 4.3 or later.

Garden Compass, Free from TeamSOA, Inc.

This is one of many iPhone apps that promises crowd-sourced advice. Snap a photo of something in your garden—a mystery weed, a bug, a leaf with a black spot—and upload it to Garden Compass to get help identifying and solving the problem. In conjunction with its online shopping website, Garden Compass, the app also will identify local brick-and-mortar garden shops in your area.

Landscaper's Companion, $7.99 from Stevenson Software

Updated in October to fix bugs and update a reference guide of 26,000 plants (no orchids or tropicals), Landscaper's Companion allows you to search the database of plants by "size, color, cultivation requirements, and resistance to deer," our reviewer Jeanne Rostaing wrote of an earlier version.  To upload your own photos, you have to buy the $9.99 "Professional" version. 

Above: A screenshot from Into Gardens. 

Into Gardens, free from developer James Alexander-Sinclair

"The wind howls and the rain batters the windowpanes but it is always warm and dry at intoGardens," begins the description of the app at the iTunes store. British garden writer James Alexander-Sinclair always entertains, and his iPad app offers recipes, garden visits, recipes, and trenchant observations on "the curse of the raccoon." (If only we could get him to write for Gardenista.) Updated in August, 2013, Version 2.3 contains fixes bugs associated with subscriptions. As our reviewer Kendra Wilson wrote of a previous version, "There are so many ideas fizzing out of the new gardening app Into Gardens, that the hand can't help reaching for pen and paper. Not necessary. It takes notes for you."

Sneak Peek: Birdsnap, free from Columbia University and the University of Maryland

Coming soon from the same team that created the popular Leafsnap plant ID app, Birdsnap is an electronic field guide to help you ID 500 common North American birds. You can see a sneak preview of how the app will work if you visit Birdsnap, where you can spin the wheel to identify birds based on physical characteristics or bird calls. An iOS app is in development.

Above: Photograph by Michelle Slatalla.

Foolproof Plants for Small Gardens, $2.99 from Sutro Media

Updated in October, this app describes 100 handpicked plants for small gardens. Features include plant photos, cultivation tips, a pronunciation guide, and a link to an online nursery that sells each plant. The newest release, Version 1.0.1, fixed bugs and improved display. Optimized for iPhone 5, this app requires iOS 4.3 or later.

Plantifier, free from TrendsCo.

A free app that works on both Apple and Android phones, Plantifier is supposed to help you ID plants. Or, to be more precise, Plantifier's other users are supposed to help. A crowd-sourced app created by Belgian-based designers TrendsCo., Plantifier lets you snap a photo of a plant you see, then upload it so other users can suggest names (or, in the absence of making a positive ID, suggest clues that might help you identify the plant yourself). How well does Plantifier work? In a recent review, we had hit-or-miss results, making us think there wasn't a big enough crowd to do the sourcing. Its main value was organizing our photos in one spot.

Above: Plantifier in action. Photograph by Michelle Slatalla.

Grow Your Own, free from the Royal Horticultural Society

Billed as offering "access in-depth horticultural advice from the UK’s leading gardening organization, as well as timely reminders to manage your crops, whilst you are out and about in your garden with your iPhone," this app gives growing advice about 20 popular kinds of fruits and vegetables. For £1.79, you can upgrade the app to add more plant information.

Garden Design Ideas, free from Chandrakala

Inspirational design ideas, for Android users. The app offers hundreds of images to help you design rooftop, vertical, water-wise, succulent, container, vegetable, or flower gardens. You can upload and share your own photos as well.

For more, see The Top 10 Gardening Apps You Need Now.

Narcissus: "The Sure Thing"

The Greek pretty boy Narcissus was universally considered beautiful, and in today’s terms might be the equivalent of People’s Sexiest Man Alive. Passing a pool, he spotted his own reflection and was captivated: He couldn’t stop gazing at himself. Some say he fell into the water and drowned, and others claim he died of starvation because he couldn’t tear himself away from his image. We don't know the full story, but we know the flowers that share his name are also entrancing enough to hold anyone's full attention.

 Above: Click to see more from the Gardenista Photo Gallery.

There are literally thousands of varieties of narcissus —commonly known as daffodils—that vary in height, flower form, and the number of flowers per stem (which can range from one to as many as 20).

Cheat Sheet:

• After they bloom, allow foliage to wither in place completely before removing (to replenish bulbs)
• Favorite garden companions include pansies, Iceland poppies, violas, alyssum
• Hardy in growing zones 3-9

Keep Them Alive:

• Full to part sun
• Regular water during growth and bloom
• Plant bulbs in fall, before ground freezes

Above: Photograph by Shining Egg.

Many varieties of narcissus are fragrant, including jonquils and tazetta types (which include the popular ‘Paperwhite’ that’s commonly used for forcing indoors around the winter holidays.)

Above: Forcing bulbs requires planting them pointy side up, giving them good drainage, and setting them in a sunny spot. Photograph via Dreamy Whites.

These early spring bloomers are so easy to grow, they’re really a sure thing. The main tip to remember is you have to plant them in fall before the ground freezes. Set bulbs, pointy side up, about twice as deep as their width in a sunny spot. You also can put a clump under deciduous trees that won’t leaf out before they emerge.

Read More:

For more, see where the World's Best Narcissus grow. Are you enjoying our Field Guide posts as much as we are? See our Field Guide Archive for tips on growing Crocus, Carrots, and Hornbeam.

While using untreated lumber to construct raised beds is still the gold standard of edible gardening health and environmentalism, we've noticed stained and painted raised beds in gardens lately—and we like what we're seeing. The Swedes have been painting their garden beds a rich, glossy black and stateside we've spotted subtle grays, greens, and blues. 

Later this week, Meredith will report on eco-friendly stains that are safe to use on edible beds, but for now we've compiled a little bit of raised bed eye candy to inspire your springtime garden planning.

Above: Towering dill in Victoria Skoglund's black raised beds in August. Photograph courtesy of Victoria Skoglund. 

Above: Spotted in Hus & Hem, beautiful black stained beds and pyramidal pea trellis are the stuff summer garden dreams are made of. Photograph by Peter Carlsson.

Above: A black pathway provides easy access to black raised beds and contrasts smartly with white gravel in this Malmö garden. Photograph by Maria Manning.

Above: Stained a dark green, these aging garden beds still look neat and tidy. Photograph by Alena of the Fat Pumpkin.

Above: Susan Cohan painted cedar beds with Benjamin Moore's Summer Nights in this New Jersey vegetable garden. Photograph by Susan Cohan.

Above: Lifescape Custom Landscaping installed a large raised bed in a recent California project and stained it a soft charcoal gray. Photograph by Jeff Veliquette.

Above: A light gray-green stain on raised beds at the community garden next to Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio. Wary about using stain in an edible garden? George Weigel weighs in on using painted lumber for raised beds in an article for Penn Live. Photograph by George Weigel.

Inspired to paint the whole garden? See Trend Alert: Black Fences. Hoping to take the look inside? See Color-Stained Furniture, the Next Big Thing? on Remodelista.