Rosemarie B.’s glorious river view

Garden touring is *work*, people. That’s what I keep telling my husband, at least.

Last weekend, Ms. Idaho Gardener (aka Mary Ann Newcomer or the Diva of Dirt) hosted me for a strenuous garden-touring workout. I think we visited 14 gardens, plus or minus, in 24 hours - on our Sun Valley-Ketchum, Idaho tour.

Now what good thing did I do to deserve this kind of spectacular treatment? Hmmm. I told my husband that the 3-day trip from LA to Idaho was a self-indulgent “getaway” that I planned in anticipation of his 12-day (yes twelve days) getaway in August to go to the Beijing Olympics. That was kind of a snarky thing to say. But it certainly got me a ticket to the airport!

Mary Ann (seen here on the right, walking and talking with talented Sun Valley-Los Angeles gardener Kathleen Phelan) has been raving about Sun Valley’s Sawtooth Botanical Garden summer tour for a couple of years, enticing me with the descriptions of residential landscapes in such a beautiful place. Surrounded by gorgeous mountains, under intense sunshine, and just far enough away from the rat race for creativity to flourish. . . the gifted and adventurous gardeners here blew me away. We had a tres bien time. Our local hostess, Julie Caldwell, made it all the more enjoyable by adding laughter, taking us to great eateries, and navigating our side trips.

Of course, I was on the lookout for Stylish Sheds, or reasonable facsimiles of such. And I was not disappointed. Here are a few of the creative shelters that we found:

BASQUE SHEEP WAGON

An Old-World tradition dressed up as a sublime summertime escape! Artist and landscape designer Cindy Hamlin is known around Sun Valley for her intricate, hand-built birdhouses. It was a joy to tour Cindy’s garden and studio where I caught glimpses of her natural artistry. No twig, branch or piece of moss is sent to the compost heap here. Instead, with miniature architectural detailing, Cindy creates one-of-a-kind habitats for winged residents. We were especially awed to see a Bird Lodge, created for a special client, seen at right.

Mary Ann and Cindy met a few years ago at a design charette at Sawtooth Botanical Garden. Their connection was my introduction to this talented Sun Valley gal (who, incidentally, grew up in Seattle!). Cindy has always admired the wheeled wagon-huts used by  Basque sheepherders. The Basque people settled in Idaho in the early part of the 20th century, and their influences are still strong in agriculture and ranching communities.

After many years, Cindy was able to find one of these brilliant green-and-red wagons and convince her husband to let her bring it to their property in Ketchum. She bought it from a guy named Cotton Riley (gotta love the name Cotton Riley), who renovates and restores these charming movable structures. Inside, beneath the canvas wagon “roof,” Cindy has installed a queen-sized mattress - perfect for sleep-outs when it’s too hot to stay indoors. It doubles as a getaway when guests arrive. There is also a traditional wood-burning castiron stove. I’m so curious to learn how that works come winter, when Cindy and her family bundle up and head out to the wagon, stomping across the snow-covered path holding with mugs of hot cocoa in their mittened hands. (At right, clockwise, from top: Cindy, Mary Ann, Julie)

When I first saw this, I said to Cindy: You are going to be in my next book!!! Love it!

A Post-Script: After dinner on Saturday night, at Ciro Pizza & Wine Bar in “downtown” Ketchum, we wandered the village and came across a corner shop called Ketchum on the Fly, a clothing, gear and adventure emporium. On display outside was the “Go Green” camper, which to me looks like a modern-day equivalent of the Basque Sheep Wagon, n’est ce pas? For $7,995, you can have one of your own. It weighs 840 lbs. It can be towed behind any vehicle (even a hybrid), and you can even put a bike or kayak rack on the top when the whole thing is collapsed to its portable state. If I can’t acquire the real thing (a Basque Wagon), I think the Go Green is a great alternative!!!

TEEPEE TRADITIONS

Mary Ann also procured an impromptu invite from Kim Peterson, gardener, floral designer, flower-grower extraordinaire (seen at left, with me - in front of one of her red gates). Kim owns Red Gate Gardens, and you can catch a glimpse of her cool sense of style and color here.

Kim invited Mary Ann and her entourage (which, by then included Julie, Cindy and me) to come over late Saturday afternoon. Mind you, this is after the poor girl had designed flowers for no fewer than five weddings in one day! Kim grows awesome blooms for local florists, including Tara Bella, a Sun Valley design studio. On on that day, she had been pressed into service to make flower magic for a plethora of brides. But still, Kim said: “come on over.”

We arrived, and began our self-guided tour of her awesome garden. I was drawn to the teepee, which is hidden at the end of a secluded pathway at the distant reaches of Kim’s property. Once inside, I discovered yet another bed (below, left). I love the sleeping-in-the-shed idea inspired by gals like Cindy and Kim.  A former resident of Puget Sound (Bainbridge Island), Kim has designs in her mind for creating her next backyard hideaway. She is going to build a garden shed to replace the teepee, based on some structures she saw in Skagit Valley. I couldn’t be more excited to see what she conjures up!

Over refreshing cocktails on Kim’s back porch, we had a wonderful “aha moment.” Mary Ann walked out from Kim’s house holding The Abundant Garden, a book I wrote with photographer Barbara Denk in 2005, and said, “oh, Deb, here’s your book.” That’s when Kim realized (and reminded me) that we met at the Boise Flower Show in 2005! It all came back: She, of long legs and blonde hair. Friendly smile and eager energy: “I once lived on Bainbridge Island,” she said. “I know the spirit of these gardens.” Oh, what charisma!

Isn’t it nice when kindred spirits reunite? Kim is a sassy, free-spirited floral artist. You can see it in every corner of her delightful garden. How fun to realize we connected a few years ago - and met again in an unexpected way. I can’t wait to return to Sun Valley and see what she’s done next.

A final note: Here is an authentic Shed - vintage 1920s. Owned by Rosemarie B., this is a split-log cabin (with its bark remaining) that truly evokes a sense of place. What a privilege to visit~

On July 3rd, my friends at Garden Rant invited me to be their guest-blogger. This kind and generous opportunity gave me a platform to share a little essay about my shed odyssey, the fascination I hold for tiny backyard architecture, and the experiences Bill Wright and I had creating “Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways.” I was tickled to see that Amy Stewart titled the piece “In Praise of Sheds.”

I asked Garden Rant readers to share their thoughts, ideas and inspiration in response to the question: What is your dream shed and how will you use it?  More than 30 clever readers sent in their answers, vying to win a copy of our book, and a set of note cards with our wellies-under-glass photograph (seen at left), taken by Bill while we were on location at Brenda Lyle’s outside Atlanta.

I was touched by reading so many awesome posts - you can go to Garden Rant to read them for yourself. It was a tough call, but I chose as the winner of this small contest a wonderful gardener and writer in rural Massachusetts.

Pat Leuchtman has a blog called Commonweeder. She and her husband created their “Cottage Ornee” (pronounced Cott-aaagh Or-Nay, preferably in a heavy French accent, Pat says), a stylish shed imagined first in their minds and then built by their hands. This little gem of a building resides at their “End of the Road Farm,” in Heath, Massachusetts. I was struck by Pat’s written description of its design and charmed by the narrative of how she and her husband use it. Here is Pat’s post about winning our little contest: “Cottage Ornee is a Winner”

Cottage Ornee  [Pat Leuchtman photos, here and below]

Here are some photographs, provided by Pat. I was so curious about the cottage’s creation and sent Pat several questions. Her comments appear below. I hope you find this little hut as alluring and enticing as I do. I am already scheming about how to get myself up to visit Pat one of these days. In the meantime, I am enjoying reading her delicious words, so make sure to visit Commonweeder.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BUILD THE LITTLE STRUCTURE? There is very little shade around our house.  We wanted a place to be outside, but protected from the sun.  And from bugs. We also wanted a place for people to sleep in the summer. Lots of family visits in the summer.

HOW DID YOU ‘SOURCE’ THE MATERIALS? Four large boulders from our own land became the foundation. A friend, who acted as our consulting architect, said that we didn’t need to try and dig holes in our stony soil for cement footings.  We could rest the building on the boulders and it would ‘float’ during seasons of frost and thaw. Devoted to supporting local markets we bought locally cut and milled hemlock. The roof is metal chosen for its durability and because we like the music of a metal roof in the rain. The plexiglass pyramidal skylight was bought through the Internet. My husband built it almost single handed, although I pounded and few nails, and was periodically called on to hold the other end.  Our son Chris came and helped with the metal roof.  After measuring and re-measuring, the frame for the skylight was the first part of the roof to be constructed. It was with a great trepidation that we finally slipped the skylight into the frame - and it fit perfectly.  “Why, you’d think it was made for it!” my husband laughed.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE NAME - COTTAGE ORNEE - AND WHAT WAS THAT INSPIRATION? According to my ‘Oxford Companion to Gardens’ a Cottage Orne (or Ferme Ornee, both with l’accent aigu which I can’t do on my computer) is a ’small, usually asymmetrically designed building containing elaborate rustic features . . . It is generally associated with the picturesque style in England.’  I had heard of this kind of building which is sometimes a sort of folly, and I liked the term.  We are also known for our folly, in general, I suspect.

WHAT WERE YOUR ‘MUST-HAVE’ DESIGN CHOICES? The Cottage had to have a long built-in ‘bench’ which could act as two single beds so that people could sleep there.  More than two people have slept there from time to time with mattresses on the floor.  It is wonderful to be able see the sky through the skylight.  It had to be small enough so that the two of us would be happy there on Sunday mornings or hot summer afternoons, but big enough to handle guests for al fresco meals.  Our 15 x 15 [foot] square has worked perfectly this way.  Just this past weekend we had about 25 people here for a surprise birthday party on the lawn and when a sudden squall and torrential rain began, nearly everyone arranged themselves quite happily in the Cottage.  (Some of us were in the house getting more food and waited out the brief storm.)

I NOTICE THIS IS A SHED THAT ISN’T ELABORATE OR LAVISH. DOES THAT HUMBLENESS HEIGHTEN THE SENSE OF ENJOYMENT FO RYOU - TAKING YOU CLOSER TO NATURE OR JUST FEELING DIFFERENT AND SEPARATE FROM YOUR MAIN RESIDENCE? You have to know that we are out in the country with the nearest movie 25 miles away. We live in a small New England town and I periodically re-read Thoreau’s Walden.  Simplify! Simplify! Simplify! I like the bare simplicity of the Cottage which I find restful.  It doesn’t shout that it needs to be maintained, dusted, organized or redone.  It is Away in the sense that Susanna Susanka of ‘The Not So Big House’ books uses the term, space for solitude.  When we are in the Cottage we are not reminded of all the chores waiting to be done, meetings to prepare for, or deadlines.

HOW/WHEN DO YOU USE IT? DO YOU WRITE OUT THERE? DRAW? DAYDREAM? ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO ADD? I go to the Cottage when I am home alone (I am now, at 68, semi-retired) to read, or rest from working in the garden. My husband and I love Sunday mornings out there with the newspaper and breakfast, in good weather, or in the afternoon for a nap or tea time. We play cards or games with our young grandsons. It is a great place to go with neighbors who stop by; it is always neat and ready.  Guests join us there for cocktails, or dinner. Everyone loves how comfortable it is, how beautiful the view.  We think it is absolutely perfect whether we wish solitude or sociability.

 Quite perfect, indeed, Pat. Thank you for sharing your story. I hope you’ll be in our next book!!!

July in Southern California dishes up a haze of purple in every hue. I recently snapped a few photos to capture the floral bounty around us.

It’s the weekend; time to be lazy and enjoy a little eye candy. So here we go:

Lavender-blue agapanthus cascades down the hillside in my neighborhood

This time of year, AGAPANTHUS takes over our ”East Hills” neighborhood. Seattle gardening friends, eat your eyes and hearts out! When I first visited this neck of the woods, in spring 2006, I was blown away by the appearance — shall I say ‘explosions’? — of lavender-blue agapanthus blooms on every corner of town.

“Okay, I guess I can live here after all,” I thought. I mentioned loving this plethora of agapanthus to my friend Nan Sterman, a California native and author of California Gardener’s Guide, Vol. 2.

“Oh, Debra, they’re gas station plants!” she exclaimed.

As I’ve said before. . . one woman’s gas station plant is another woman’s rare collector plant. Imagine describing it as a commonplace “filler” for the corner convenience store! I know of a few passionate souls in Seattle who willingly forked over $15 for a 2-inch Agapanthus ‘Blue Heaven’ cultivar from Heronswood (or, elsewhere spent $20 to $40 for larger pots of this pretty purple South African native). And then. And then. Well, if my efforts were at all representative, there was the breath-holding that occurred through the wet, chilly winter months, as we pretty much realized the true-blue agapanthus wasn’t going to emerge in great shape the following spring. Like many tender perennials, well, they were pricey annuals. Or, they were in need of massive amounts of pampering, such as potting up the fleshy rhizomes and moving them indoors for the winter.

But other purple beauties grow well up and down the coast, so here are two:

VERBENA BONARIENSIS, one of those excellent ’veil’ plants, to use a phrase coined by writer-friend Cathy Wilkinson Barash. The blooms are pinky-purple, small but effective en-masse, especially as they tower like little pom-poms on the tips of slender, but stiff 5-foot-long stems. Two of these Brazilian verbena plants growing together in a raised bed in our front garden create the perfect screen to hide me from the eyes of neighbors whenever I scurry outside in my PJs early in the morning.

And finally, LAVENDER is a happy camper here. Much happier with So Cal’s low-to-no precipitation than in winter-wet Seattle (although that never stopped me from growing lavender in my garden!). Feasting my eyes on swaths of lavender is really one of the joys of living. I recently had the privilege of touring friend Alisa Varney’s Ojai Lavender and Rose Co., where she grows upwards of 1,500 lavender plants.

What a beautiful scene: a stroll through Ojai Lavender and Rose Co.’s aromatic fields

The reason for my visit was to quiz this fellow writer and lavender expert on the best varieties and methods for our local Ventura and Santa Barbara county gardens. I profiled her in the July issue of 805 Living, a lifestyle monthly published in my backyard. In my ‘In the Garden’ column, I featured Ojai Lavender and Rose Co., along with New Oak Ranch, another cool source for locally-grown lavender.

Some of Alisa’s favorite lavender cultivars include ‘Provence’ (seen at left), ‘Grosso’  and ‘Alba’. The shrub-sized evergreen plants are long-blooming, resistant to deer and rabbits, and attract pollinators like bees and butterflies. She harvests armloads to sell to floral designers and wholesale clients eager for organic, field-grown, local flowers.

In 2003, when she first planted lavender in this former Valencia orange grove, Alisa was told that her loamy-clay soil had too much clay content for lavender to grow well. “But it is fine,” she says. “It only took two years for them to get really big.”

Nothing pleases her more than a morning spent gathering bundles of lavender, moving from one billowing row of scented plants to the next. “There’s something mellow about being here among the lavender,” Alisa confides. “I like to see all the bees it attracts.”

Her Ojai neighbors and fellow lavender growers Karen and Bill Evenden fell in love with lavender while sailing through the Mediterranean. They ended up in Ojai nearly six years ago, after searching for land that reminded them of the climate and culture of Croatia.

Among several crops at their 24-acre ranch, the couple grows 5,000 lavender plants, including ‘Provence’, ‘Grosso’, ‘Hidcote’ (an English variety) and ‘Buena Vista’.

On weekends from mid-June through late July, New Oak Ranch’s lavender fields are open for “u-pick” customers. For $5, you can grab a pair of clippers and harvest as much lavender as an 8-inch twisty-tie will hold. You might be drawn to the fields of ‘Buena Vista’ lavender, which Karen says holds its purple color longer than other varieties. “It’s very desirable for dried arrangements,” she suggests.

A self-described foodie and author of A Taste of Croatia, Karen admires lavender for its culinary uses. Her  favorite dessert involves just a few ingredients: Fold bruised lavender buds into sweetened whipped cream and serve over fresh strawberries. One bite guarantees a sublime summertime experience.

STYLISH SHED News:

Thanks to an invitation from Shirley Kerins of the Huntington Botanical Gardens, I spent Thursday afternoon with an enthusiastic audience of about 150 “shedistas,” who attended my lecture on “Creating the Backyard Shed of your Dreams.”

These folks endured what I consider sweltering summertime temperatures to visit the gorgeous Huntington landscape and sit in on my talk. I loved sharing stories of the passionate shed owners who come alive in the pages of Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways, thanks to Bill Wright’s wonderful photography.

Increasingly, I find that people just need a spark of an idea to get them re-visioning, re-imagining, and even renovating a little building in their backyard. It is so gratifying to meet kindred spirits who understand the allure of having a small, but separate sanctuary, especially if it’s in the garden. To borrow the name of a San Diego area garden art and container business, I’m a “Grateful Shed.”

I think many of us have experienced that frequent voice whispering in our ear, offering words of wisdom, advice, encouragement and humor — just when we need them. For me, and for many of her beloved friends, that voice belongs to Linda Plato. “It’s all good,” was one of her favorite sayings. Or, her shorthand version of that phrase: “Good times.”

Garden designer, horticulturist, Anglophile, educator, editor, writer and friend, Linda and her bon mots live in our memories and our hearts. Long before cancer took her young life on December 4, 2005 (at the age of 37), Linda’s witticisms and wry look at the world were a source of humor and happiness to me.

She wrote some of her funniest pieces anonymously as the Garden Curmudgeon for “Garden Notes,” the Northwest Horticultural Society’s quarterly newsletter, for which I was editor. Linda later followed me as editor and continued as the GC, often quoting the OGC (the Original Garden Curmudgeon). It took some people years to figure out that she was GC and her dearest friend Greg Graves was the OGC. The columns are collected on the NHS web site.

I’ve been thinking lately that I wanted to write a “Linda’s on my Mind” piece. And over the July 4th weekend, her husband Bruce Forstall sent me a good reason to. Bruce and several family members and friends have sponsored a memorial park bench to commemorate dear Linda. Located in Kirkland, Wash., not too far from Linda’s former design studio, the classy bench will provide respite and peace to many. The logo on the plaque, a container with a triple-ball topiary, is the one Linda designed for her business cards. Her saying,  “It’s All Good,” also appears. (Photos here: courtesy of Bruce Forstall).

It makes me so happy to know that her friends can visit whenever they want. Perhaps if you go sit there, you’ll hear Linda’s voice in your ear, too.

Here is a link to its location: Heritage Park

Here is a link to photos of the bench and setting, courtesy of Bruce Forstall: Bench photos by Christey Bahn

After I read Bruce’s email, in which he commented: “I’m sure there are far too many native plants in the garden for Linda’s taste,” I sent him this reply:

“I can’t wait to visit it . . . and maybe bring a few dwarf boxwood balls and secretly plant them - symmetrically, of course - on either side of the bench.”

His response? “Your comment about secretly planting dwarf boxwoods on either side of the bench is *exactly* what I was thinking when I was writing the original email! Exactly!”

So if you see me with a rental car filled with topiary supplies and a few boxwoods when I’m next in Seattle (perhaps February 2009?), you’ll know that I’m headed up to Kirkland for a little moonlight gardening, in Linda’s memory!

I wrote this piece “Remembering Linda,” for the January 2006 issue of Northwest Garden News:

Linda Jean Plato (March 30, 1968-December 4, 2005)

Linda Plato approved of the two curved hedges of dwarf boxwood growing in my garden. She wished, however, that I might have clipped them into tidy forms, instead of letting them grow freely.

In December 2005, the horticultural community lost Linda to cancer. The owner of Kirkland-based Linda Plato Garden Design & Consulting, Linda was 37. She was married to Bruce Forstall, a software engineer who moonlights as the occasional horticultural photographer and garden tourist. Their fat tomcat, Buster, was their beloved roommate.

In addition to designing amazing European-inspired landscapes, Linda wrote and lectured about gardens. She was awarded a silver medal for her innovative and whimsical display garden at the 2004 Northwest Flower & Garden Show. She called her garden “Urban Fortress,” a name which hinted at her tongue-in-cheek attitude about garden designs and designers that take themselves too seriously (she called those people “haughty-culturists”). Rather than having a garden sanctuary, Linda thought life could sometimes be so crazy that we should protect ourselves with a fortress-like garden (think lots of exotic, thorny plants around the perimeter).

Linda was garden editor for Seattle Homes and Lifestyles magazine, wrote a weekly garden column for the Ballard News-Tribune, and served as editor and contributor for Garden Notes, the newsletter of the Northwest Horticultural Society. Linda was the original coordinator of the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden’s “Great Plant Picks” program, a directory of plants that grow well in the Pacific Northwest compiled by regional experts. She lectured frequently in the horticultural community and was an instructor at Edmonds Community College. HGTV’s “Gardening by the Yard” featured her in two program segments.

I know that Linda would have hated it if I said something to the effect that she “lost a brave battle with cancer.” Because while this exuberant, funny, creative and caring woman faced the wicked, evil disease head-on, she never let cancer have the upper hand in her life. Linda used her characteristic wit and flippant attitude to stare down cancer and diminish its power over her. She took huge risks and, with her husband Bruce, made unpredictable and inspiring decisions about living with cancer.

When the cancer recurred, in August 2005, Linda started a “blog” called Cancergrrl. She kept a journal of her experiences with cancer treatment, but also shared her honest, humorous take on the disease. She made it easy for her friends to talk with her about cancer, using her disarming humor and irreverence to put others at ease about this scary episode that ultimately took her life.

In July 2005, Linda accompanied her husband, Bruce, on his dream trip to spend two weeks watching the Tour de France, cycling in France and catching glimpses of their hero, cancer survivor and world-class cyclist, Lance Armstrong. It was upon the return of that trip in early August that Linda realized the cancer returned to her body. She started up the blog, writing about the importance that we all send her chocolate. I think her funniest line was: In lieu of sending a donation to your favorite cancer charity, please send Fran’s Dark Gray Salt Caramels to Linda Plato. I’m pretty sure her request single-handedly boosted the sales of that addictive candy last fall.

Linda often wrote about the grand and glorious gardens she visited around globe, including countless visits to play and enjoy the topiary at Disneyland and Disneyworld. “I am not ashamed in the least to admit that I love the horticulture at Disney,” she wrote.

Linda loved to use topiary as a focal point in the garden. She once got herself into trouble with PlantAmnesty by writing an article called “A Gentle Plea for Hedge Trimmers.” In it, Linda pointed out: “Surely there is room in the Northwest for a grown-up’s silly garden, complete with whimsical topiary hippos or giraffes. Laughter is good for the soul, and I believe that we should use whimsy in the garden more often.”

Whenever I see topiary or tour a formal garden, I think of Linda. She inspired me to grow what I love and create a garden that makes me happy. I’m thinking about clipping my boxwood hedges in her honor.

Today, all I have to share are these photographs of my sole hydrangea plant. This pinky charmer lives on our covered porch, surviving the heat, I guess, because of its deeply shaded existence.

It is 90 degrees outside as I write at 7:30 p.m. With adequate water, this hydrangea seems to cope with close-to-the-century-mark temperatures. But if it wasn’t protected by the overhanging roof, it would be miserable.

In contrast, hydrangeas in Seattle can handle a few days of excessive heat, here and there. But their blooms and leaves get crispy when subjected to sustained hot-and-sunny summer conditions. All the more reason why I cherish owning at least one non-crispy specimen here in Zone 10!

This hydrangea was a “housewarming” gift nearly 2 years ago, given by my husband’s boss on the occasion of our move to SoCal. To me, “Miss Hydrangea,” it seemed ironic to receive a no-name, hothouse variety in a 1-gallon pot, cloaked in that crinkly-metallic florist paper. It nearly toppled over because the few enormous mop-head blooms were wildly out of proportion to the size of the plant itself. In my former garden (seen at left and right), I was lucky to grow several cool Japanese hydrangeas that were gifted to me by friend Richie Steffen of the Miller Garden. These babies seemed to think they were still growing in their native soil because they exploded in size over the period of a few years - only to crowd out the nearby path. (Although, I must confess that the huge mophead hydrangea shown here was also a housewarming gift that arrived in a 1-gallon florist’s pot: It was given by our then-new neighbor David when we completed construction and threw ourselves a move-in party in 1998!).

Back to this pink hothouse hydrangea, which sat on my kitchen counter and seemed to be mocking me. If she could have spoken, she would have said: “You think you’re such a great gardener? Well, guess what? No one here cares that you grew a dozen stunning hydrangea shrubs, not to mention two climbing hydrangeas, in your old Seattle garden. Try keeping me alive here in Zone 10!”

So that’s what I did. I transplanted the little puffball into a large container on the front porch. I inherited the pot from the previous owners, complete with a  spray emitter from the on-and-off-again functioning drip system. This vessel was once home to a scraggly peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii) but I had no qualms about replacing it with my little hydrangea. (My very first reaction when I saw this new property: Why are there so many houseplants in the ground? - Clearly, one woman’s houseplant is another woman’s shrub! That sums up the difference between Zone 7b-8a and Zone 10).

So this cotton-candy pink hydrangea is a constant reminder of the pleasures I experienced in my former garden. And don’t worry. I’m slowly figuring out how to “let go” of many of my hydrangea fantasies. Just let me have this one!

A beautiful bouquet, gathered from my former garden. Notice the voluptuous lacecap hydrangea on the left of this arrangement, one of my special varieties.

Lots has been happening in the media this month as Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways appears in print (newspapers and magazines) and online. We’ll even be featured on TV later this month, when Central Texas Gardener (Austin PBS station KLRU) airs a half-hour segment and interview (click here for air-dates).

GARDEN RANT invited me to post today as “guest blogger” and I was thrilled to participate. Thank you to Amy Stewart, Susan Harris, and their partners-in-crime, Michele Owens and Elizabeth Licata, for the wonderful opportunity. Click on over to read my essay, “In Praise of Sheds,” and to see which reader-post wins the free copy of Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways. I’ll choose the winner who gives the best answer to my question:

“What’s your dream shed and how will you use it?”

SUNSET magazine: Thanks to my friends at Sunset for embracing the Shed-Lovers Lifestyle! Kathy Brenzel, garden editor, with support from editor-in-chief Katie Tamony and executive editor Irene Edwards, commissioned a version of the book’s “Newsroom” chapter for Sunset’s July issue. It’s titled: “Home Office With a View.”

The mini-profile about Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press reporter Martha Mendoza, featuring Bill Wright’s photographs of her closet-sized shed-office, allowed me to include details that didn’t make it into the book. The piece captures a-day-in-the-life of this talented, versatile writer and mom, as she moves effortlessly between the Santa Cruz bungalow she shares with husband Ray and their four children, and her 64-square-foot potting shed-turned-office.

Kathy Brenzel also produced a vibrant sidebar about Stylish Sheds, including photographs of three west coast sheds in Bellingham, Wash., Los Angeles, and San Diego County. We couldn’t be happier with the coverage!

ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION: Features writer Rosalind Bentley noticed a copy of Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways sitting on the desk of an AJC colleague and started paging through it. She discovered two greater Atlanta area properties and became more curious about the phenomenon of converting aging shacks into architectural whimsy.

Rosalind called me up and we had a lively conversation a few weeks ago. With the exciting title: “Author Debra Prinzing turns sheds into backyard treasures,” Rosalind’s Q&A with me appears in this Sunday’s AJC. It is now posted online with a web gallery featuring eight of Bill’s awesome photographs. We’re very pleased that the article highlights the backyard cabin of our friend Mary Martin, who died prematurely last month, as well as the welcoming retreat owned by Atlanta friends Brenda and Gerald Lyle.

Rosalind writes: ”With a little elbow grease, that 1930s lean-to might actually have some life left in it.”

Here’s an excerpt:

Q: What was it about sheds that captured your attention?

A: Anyone who likes to garden or likes being in the garden is predisposed to having a shed of some kind. And I’d always admired potting sheds and little structures that could be fanciful. I’m drawn to beautiful and little pieces of architecture.

Q: With so many people moving back into core cities, people often tear down the little house and the little detached garage that won’t hold the big SUV. Your book seems anti-big.

A: People are drawn to these backyard spaces as a way to hit the pause button and escape, even if it’s for half an hour.

The act of walking outside of your home and crossing into nature and entering a new space, tiny as it may be, it has some kind of meditative quality to it. It gets away from the computer and phone and all the electronics and detaches from the over-Blackberried world.

PACIFIC HORTICULTURE: The Summer 2008 issue of this wonderful journal features a lovely review of Stylish Sheds by writing coach and friend Paula Panich. It will be posted online soon (check back for a link), but here is a little excerpt:

The twenty-eight sheds and hideaways in this book will induce shack-envy in anyone without one — and it might be difficult to find people who don’t dream about one. Tucked away in yards from Washington through California, into Texas, across to Georgia and up through Long Island, Manhattan, and Connecticut, these intimate structures are inventive, if diminutive, acts of architecture. Re-imagined garages, potting sheds, tool huts, even a 1930s log cabin, a makeshift boathouse, and a barn have been transformed into sanctuaries for writing, designing, painting, gardening, dining, napping — and, one would imagine, the whole range of mostly solitary human activity, excluding (it is hoped), engaging with objects that beep, blare, bedevil.

A few other stories are coming down the pike, including Bill Wright’s and my spread for the July issues of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air magazines (to come - waiting for my husband and son to smuggle a few copies home on Monday when they fly back from the US Track & Field trials in Eugene), and a soon-to-appear piece in - get this - The Irish Times!