November is the best month to buy plants on sale.
Most nurseries must make space for Christmas trees, arriving typically, by Thanksgiving.
A tempting email arrived from here. I bit. And bought!! .
A delicious man helped place my order, arriving Dec. 4th. Gosh he was rollicking good. I think I asked him to deliver my plants himself. He wasn't sure they would let him. Honestly, I begged him to be the one unloading my plants with me.
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We are still emailing back/forth about my order. More deliciousness.
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What's so delicious? Try a 25 gallon Variegated Kousa Dogwood at $90, a 45 gallon Cryptomeria at $130, 25 gallon Natchez Crape Myrtles at $60 and super tasty 7 gallon Setsugekka Sasanqua's at $40. Best prices of the year.
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Told you Mr. Rollicking Delicious was good.
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It's been almost a decade since I've done a large tweek in my garden. At my baywindow I'm creating a gravel terrace. 2 Adirondack chairs from the Smith/Hawken going-out-of-business sale were bought for this new garden room. Another gravel terrace is being added in my side garden under the crape myrtles. A chandelier is waiting in my garage to be hung from the crape myrtles over this new seating area. Teak seating was bought from TJMAXX.
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My garden is tiny & full of rooms. Soon I should win an award for most garden rooms/square foot!!!
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Gravel for the terraces will be ordered tomorrow. Laying in bed I connive where it should be dumped. There's no where. At the bottom of my short drive seems best. Don't want the dump truck breaking it. Guess who shovels? Me. Hired my contractor, Dan Riddle, to plant the big stuff. Can only afford him, and workers, for a full day.
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Why tell you all this? So you can be your own contractor too.
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AND, my interior was SUSANNED Tuesday. When Susanne Hudson left (10am-7pm) I was excited and dizzy. Since Tuesday I've been taking my notebook with color chips/notes around the house & to bed, it's beside my computer now as I type glancing at the colors.
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SUZANNE MEASURED. Things I knew couldn't be done, were done, because she measured. Antiques from my garage will be going inside, finally. She also named rooms. The Parlor, Music Room, Garden Room, OMG, what fun.
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Top pic is of HighGrove, Prince Charles's estate in England. And the bottom pic was a joy to come across. I've been in that garden. Don't remember where. Must peruse my pics & find my shot of the same spot. I think the pics came via
Golden Age Gardens .
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
With Susanne's brilliance, instead of ending their life at a, literal, DUMP his windows are becoming GARDEN HOUSES, metaphorically, free. 
#89 granite gravel creates crunchy delicious floors.
With rescued objects (aka free) and an exquisite eye for junking Susanne's GARDEN HOUSE is a statement in INTERIOR DESIGN too.
Roundabouts are a fabulous landscape design tool. Use where 2, or more, paths intersect.
This woman, above, was beyond ready to take her frontyard in hand. Corner lot, too big, unattractive, way too much mowing, little property value, and most importantly, it did not make her happy. (Ha, beware the woman not happy with something.) 
Grass was reduced, paths with roundabout designed, groundcovers, evergreen shrubs, & understory trees to survive drought/flood & aging in place. Aging in place? Want to be 88 with weekly garden chores? Ha, didn't think so. It's designing for unskilled labor, tough plants, and timeless beauty on axis from window views.
From the house, above, a stone roundabout anchors the view. Evergreen hollies anchor the entry path, variegated sweetflag (groundcover) surround the roundabout. 
Small roundabout, above. Notice something important about the pot, above? It doesn't HAVE to be planted.
With children & 2 careers in full blossom construction slowed, and the garden almost halted.
Overwhelmed, he hired me to design the landscape. Loving gardens he was doing the work himself. Until,
his wife, in very serious tones, let him know the projects did, INDEED, have a completion date.
Do you know what love is? He hired a personal organizer. He also began subcontracting some of the landscape labor. Another gift of love for his wife; working in his garden is a joy to him, not labor. Alas, time.
Instead of an arbor for shade, crape myrtle's will soon cover the terrace. Flow & axis dictated the terrace have 2 entries.
A GARDEN PACK RAT he had a stash of Stone Mountain granite curbstones. They now step you down into a woodland garden, on axis from the stone terrace.
The garden is young and all areas are not this far along. Yes, I'll post more about this garden in the future. 
Susanne Hudson made this, above, mirror. Hung on an outside wall of her carriage house.
3 project (antique) tables, 5 bookcases, 5 chairs, pair French doors, mantel, chandelier, 9 lamps, for starters. Quite satisfying until I saw this, below.
I know, before getting out of my car, is the MAIN VIEW TO THE HOUSE.
Some homes are approached from both directions along the street. Many are approached from mainly ONE direction. Design to the main direction.
be missing in your garden.
If they look this good during the day unlit
imagine their seduction at night.
Cool respite to enjoy your garden from another vista. A place to eat, read, nap, gather.
For greater impact plant purple foliage next to chartreuse foliage.
Then realizing this is the rake to use on a bluestone terrace. No scratching of your stones with metal tines.
In the foreground, above, is a Pee Gee hydrangea. With dried blossoms, by the rake, is an oakleaf hydrangea. After this picture was taken I added 'Anna Belle' hydrangea. 
Came across this pic, below, yesterday.
OMG, so glad I stained the teak and painted the iron.
Most nurseries must make space for Christmas trees, arriving typically, by Thanksgiving.
