Sage Outdoor Designs » landscape design

Pantone has released their pick for 2013’s Color of the Year: Emerald Green. At first, I wasn’t sure if I was sold, but the more I look at it, the more I am on board with this trend.

They claim it is “Lively, radiant, and lush, a color of elegance and beauty that enhances our sense of well being, balance, and harmony.” Translation: all at once it manages to remind us of crisp polo-shirt wearing Wimbledon fans, happy days spent as children watching the Wizard of Oz, and a slow walk through a serene leafy forest. How can one color do that, you ask? Well, shucks- I have no clue. But it makes me feel wealthy just looking at it.

Actually, it scares me a bit how right Pantone typically is with their color picks. Last year (2012, that is) it was a deep orange-red that they called Tangerine Tango. And yes, I did paint the accent wall in my office just that color. And 2010 was Turquoise… and well, you all remember my almost embarrassing obsession with that color.

And yes, I did skip 2011 on purpose- they named a sherbert pink they call Honeysuckle, but I beg to differ there. I think it should have been a rich plum purple. For a while there, I couldn’t stop buying purple things, and I’ve noticed it even started showing up recently on tennis shoes. I think that might be the end of the line as far as a color trend goes.

I learned recently (from my good friend Feras Irikat of Oceanside Glass tile) that it typically takes two years for color trends from world of high fashion (the runways) to make it into the home. So that gives us a little time to decide if this one really is a winner. What do you think? Would you use this color?

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.