Sage Outdoor Designs » landscape design

From now through New Years Eve, the San Diego Botanical Garden throws their Garden of Lights celebration. They deck out the plantings with over 100,000 twinkle lights. It is so magical being in the garden in the crisp night air and wandering through the wintery scene. It is as close to the magical feeling of a quiet snowy night as we get here in sunny San Diego.

And yes… they have fake snow, and Santa, and a bonfire complete with marshmallow roasting, and live music every evening from 6-8. Check out their schedule of live music here.

Holiday party coming up? I love the idea of decorating your front entry with plants- it is cheerful and tasteful, and some of the plants you can reuse in your garden later. (I said some because I don’t believe in planting Poinsettias in your yard. Did you know they become trees? Leggy, stick-like, ugly trees. Its not good… so as cruel as it feels, toss them after the holidays).

This is a fun arrangement I just finished that will greet guests as they arrive for  a Christmas party. None of these plants are actually planted- they are all just in their nursery containers, which we hid with burlap and craft paper. After the party, my client will be able to use the ferns, ivy, Cyclemen, and thyme in her garden.

If you want to do some plant decorating for the holidays, let me know and I’d be happy to help! If you are looking for fun containers, plant stands, burlap, and other decorating supplies, you have got to try out Shinoda Design Center. You need a resale license, though, to shop there!

This is about as simple as a fire pit can get! It only takes one match starts the bonfire log burning, and then you have a perfect focal point for your winter garden party.

I saw one recently in the Netherlands, and I’ll admit I was fascinated. It mostly smoldered, but looked wonderful out a large window and the smell was amazing! Also, there is something perplexing, in a fun way, about just setting a piece of wood on the patio to burn. Maybe I’m just too much of a San Diego kid, and oversensitive about fire, but I still can’t decide if these are a great idea… or a terrible one. What do you think?

This one is easy to get- it is from Terrain. And, at $28, it would make a fun and unique Christmas gift, maybe for your Dad (isn’t he the one who is always impossible to find a gift for?) or your Grandpa.

This is the stylish hanging Orbit planter designed by Potted. They have it planted with a mop head of Carex glauca, but it would also look great planted with succulents (like a blend of Echevaria and draping Donkey Tails). I think this would look great hanging from the eaves of your urban loft’s balcony, or dangling from a tree limb as a fun surprise.

Its friend in the background is the Circle Pot, also by Potted. I love them both. At $89 each, they may not be a stocking stuffer, but they don’t make a bad impulse purchase for your sweetheart.

I have a bit of a thing for anything circular, so I have always been fascinated by traditional Chinese Moon Gates. This one in particular I find breathtaking because it only forms the full full moon shape when you catch the reflection of the bridge in the still water of the canal. To me, I think the designer was playing with the idea of whether or not the moon is really there at all, or only in our imaginations… very whimsical, don’t you think?

This Moon Gate is from Purple Bamboo Park in Beijing, China.