Gardening Supplies

My Favorite Type of Gardening In Any Season



My favorite type of gardening in any season? Topiary of course! Inside or outside, table, top, or in the garden… I find it meditative, creativity, inspiring, and very much a signature style touch. Let me know in the comments below, if you too are smitten with topiary. #cottagegarden #gardendesign #gardening #cottagestyle #gardendecor #backyard #myrtletopiary

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Well welcome to Signature style Saturday and if there is any one thing that is associated with me and my signature style I think it would be topiary my obsession for it my passion for it I think it’s probably my favorite form of gardening so much so that it is on the

Front cover of my garden journal that just recently came out sadly when we moved from the old house I lost a good number of my Myrtle topiary which I’m going to be talking about today we’re also going to be talking about a signature cocktail that I will be

Serving to my gal friends during the Valentine season um we’re going to talk a little bit about some little life luxuries some products that are making my my life easier and answer some of your questions so what do you say guys do it let’s do

It well for the next week or two excuse me darling for the next week or two we are going to be talking about topiary now the practice and the artistry of topiary is not intimidating I promise you but there are some nuances to it that I want to share with you today and

Some tips and some tricks and I’m G going to try to kind of put them in isolation so that I don’t overwhelm you let’s start out with probably my favorite indoor variety of topiary and that is Myrtle communist compacta it is not like a crepe myrtle it’s not like

The traditional Myrtle hedge that you see growing it’s not even Eugenia which is also a form of topiary that I grow traditionally outside this is a small sword shaped leaf that probably uh was made famous by bunny melon and her passion for growing topiary also and more recently I think Tory Burch has

Really made it famous I remember being in New York City and seeing some of her gorgeous Myrtle topiaries in her showroom there in New York City and I have a modest collection compared to theirs mine has historically in the past been a lot larger it is now growing but

The reason that it is smaller is because when we moved from the other house to this house there was so much chaos going on that I lost a number of them so let’s talk a little bit about their care how to grow them how you might want to style

Them and most importantly let’s start off after this break with where can I Source them and where can I find them because I think that might be the most vexing most frustrating question of all now Myrtle toer can be hard to find I very very infrequently have ever found

It here in Oklahoma City if I have it would have been at a florist I sometimes have seen them in Dallas I have seen them at mans M ANS e in Alexandria Virginia I have also seen it let’s see where else have I seen it just out and

About I’ve seen it in some other florists in California but in the Oklahoma City area sadly I have not and typically I have to order them online just like you now transparency it is not cheap and I don’t know why because it’s relatively easy to start um from stem

And root cuting It’s relatively easy to start it’s not an expensive plant in general and in fact when I was in California recently it just grows like a weed there they use it as shrubs so why it is so expensive I don’t know maybe it’s because it does require training

And patience but so do your children so maybe that’s why I like growing it so let me talk about three different sources that I have used recently to get get these new specimens number one Amazon and I shared this Source recently in a swipe up link on Instagram and I

Think they sold out almost immediately the inventory must not have been very great so how much was it and what uh what size did it come in and how was it packaged well this is the size that it came in that is probably 6 to 8 Ines

Tall it is in a 3 and 1 half to 4 in pot typically when you receive topiary it comes encased in some kind of shrink wrapped plastic bubble wrap or something to keep the soil in place it will sometimes come with a little care tag

And this is the shape that this one came in now when you start when you start a topiary um from a cutting it doesn’t look like this obviously it looks like a little shrub a little spot of green so over over time they train it into a

Single ball trunk or a multiple ball trunk and that’s what you are paying for and how much did I pay this one I believe was $34 and give or take a dollar or two that’s what you can pretty much expect to pay online please note

That this one also came in a plastic pot um I will repot it myself in something else so that is something of an expense to get the look that want but basically it came in pretty good shape it isn’t completely spherical so I’ll want to

Train on it a little bit more to get that globular shape that I like but that was Source number one Amazon you can continue to try back frequently to see if they’ve got it but I can’t guarantee it Source number two it also uh sold out I believe fairly

Recently I ordered three from from there and it was a company called I believe it was Limu l i m i e ux and if you are going to look for sources online here is the trick you Source Myrtle communist compacta live topiary all of those words need to

Be in there otherwise you’re going to get crepe myrtle you’re going to get artificial Topia you’re going to get Eugenia Topia you’re going to get things you don’t want so use those four terms steuart we might want to put that up here Myrtle communist or communist compacta live topiary and that’s where

It will come up with some sources for you some of them are better some than others I don’t know because I haven’t tried every one of them but I did try try this Lemieux it might have been through Etsy and and kind of I don’t know strangely enough you will find that

Etsy is a source for them and they must use different suppliers we will put these links below and when I ordered from them it too came in a plastic pot I’ve already repotted it in this beautiful gray distressed clay pot but look at how beautiful that form is they

Took a little bit more time a little bit more attention it’s approximately the same height but it is already dense it already has a perfect Round Top and it is distinct from this one St can you see the difference there yeah the difference

So if I put it up here you can see it’s about the same height okay so that is Source number two Source number three and the one that I’m probably going to recommend most highly is an Old Source that is once again a new source and that’s from my friend Angela at

Pasiflora cazoo if you have follow followed me for a while you know that in the past she supplied topiary um it was even under Linda V’s collection I believe she was sourcing them from a purveyor that then decided um to quit business so that kind of affected her

Inventory well guess what Angela bought that greenhouse and bought the inventory yes go Angela and so she is starting to really get her inventory up to Snuff and now that it is not quite so cold she will be sending them to you by the way when they send them this little lemon

Cypress that I got I also got off of Amazon it was $19 not such a great deal when I can get one for half the price and twice the size sometimes at Trader Joe’s but nevertheless I got it this one was $19 plus change and when it came and

When the topia came from paf FL kalamazo they came with a little oh a little block that contains heat that absorbs heat so when they get it to you if the temperatures are subfreezing then they will remain intact and intact they are and beautifully beautifully shipped hers

Came in bubble wraps surrounded by a cocoon of perforated cardboard they they were just beautifully packed they all came unlike the others these all came in beautiful Italian terracotta some of them like this one gave me the vapors because look at that mossy growth on the

Side I pay extra for that and I would have paid quite a bundle to get a pot like this that had this beautiful patina so that’s one reason to buy from her the prices vary I couldn’t tell you exactly what the prices are but next week I will

Be sharing her price list I will be sharing her um her inventory so you can see exactly what sizes she has what Heights she has and what she has available the ones that were approximately this same stature so let’s look at do I have one here this one here okay

I’ve already it’s already in one of these pots but this one was approximately the same stature and it was just I would say a couple dollars more than the other two but again it came in a beautiful pot so there you go another distinction and this is the

First time I saw it these from Angela they are braided stems they have braided stems unlike these which are all singular in stem about yeah why why is that important well number one it gives you probably and gives her a a faster Fuller um poodle shape on top the other

Thing that it does from a practical standpoint is when these complain when they get fussy if one of these stems die that means the other two may may still be going strong and all you have to do is rely on those other stems so there

You go three for the price of one so let’s take a break here and I’m going to talk to you a little bit about how I trim them how I feed them and how I for them well I don’t think any of us would reject a good storage solution or a good

Storage idea and definitely those kinds of solutions are important to me now that I am at the cottage and I have a little bit less storage area and anything that solves a problem for me is as you know a little life luxury so my little life luxuries and things that are

Making my life easier this week are one collapsible so I love this this kangaroo it’s a fisker’s product this premium kangaroo popup bag it is retractable and I love it because it’s lightweight I don’t have to Lug a great big heavy trash can or something like that around

When I am collecting debris from the garden and then when I’m finished again it will just fold up accordion style and I can hang it up just like here in this little picture so I can easily store it on the west side of my house I love it I

Love it so much um I just bought this one I had already bought one and I bought another so if one is good two is better okay the other thing that I love this is an oldie but goodie I talked about this when I was discussing topiary

And a way that you can hydrate your small pots of topiary this is a centurion product I actually did a commercial for them years back and it’s a an accordion bucket but they also I think didn’t they have a dog bowl Stewart um yeah and and it’s just it

Just expands and so I can keep this under my kitchen sink and then when I am done with it all I have to do is just retract it and it just slides right in there I love this I have a couple of them one I keep inside one I keep

Outside and when you’re done they just deflate and it’s just really handy and it’s a wonderful thing um okay this is also a storage solution and not only is it a great storage solution but it also was a set of domino storage solution and

What do I mean to my mean by that I love this so so much I’m about to get another one if I really love something I buy it I try it out and then I get another one and this this is a hard plastic storage bin it is waterproof you can also lock

It it comes with a lock if you want want to keep oh maybe some handheld battery operated tools in it or something or anything that might be precious to you it’s not difficult to put together it’s very lightweight and I’m going to keep it on uh the west side of the cottage so

That I don’t have to go all the way back to my little storage shed to get my hand tools to get my garden gloves to get fertilizer any of that kind of thing I can just reach in here and get it now I love not only good

Storage Solutions but a good storage set of dominoes and what do I mean by that well in my laundry room I had these canvas storage boxes which I really really liked but then I decided I wanted to upgrade them to something that was a little bit more attractive some wicker

Boxes of the same size and I thought aha I can do that because I can use these out in the garden bin because look they fit exactly in here and I can keep my pruners in here I can keep my garden gloves in another one if I want to access

Something on the bottom I just take this one out and I can access what’s in here where I’ve got fertilizer I can keep my long bladed shears and things in here in other words it is just elegant in both its Simplicity and its function and I

Like it about that it also gave me an excuse without feeling guilty of ways that I can use these felt boxes and buy the new wicker ones for for the laundry room and I’ll show show you those momentarily I’m so excited I can’t talk the other thing that you guys know

Historically I just adore is my lightweight again lightweight battery operated Works blower okay so you guys know I love it I love it so much that I just bought another one for the back that way I can keep this one up here in front and I can

Keep another one in the back and why did I buy another one because they are on a great price right now at a great price point right now they’re like $89 and typically they’re over a hundred and I just think they are invaluable especially if you don’t have a lot of

Hand strength if you’ve got arthritis in your hands if you just aren’t very strong this is just just so so lightweight in fact Leah just picked it up and she was I think she was surprised she almost have dropped it because it was so light so I wanted to let you guys

Know about this we’ll put a link to all of these products below but I wanted to let you know about it because it is such a great deal right now as we all get ready to go out in the garden now Stuart do you want to follow me inside and I’m

Going to show you those wicker baskets that I put in my in my laundry room they’re kind of cute I don’t know what the inside of my house looks like right now but let’s do it anyway and by the way while we’re going in let me show you that this is how

Those topiaries came shipped I think I told you they were in a concrete or concrete cardboard slip and there they are so come on in here and let’s go back to the laundry Room cuz I want to show you this I don’t know that I I would have bought these new baskets had I not had a use for the other ones but I want I I just thought these were a lot more attractive than this so

This one I will put in a cabinet I also liked it better when they weren’t doubled up because it makes access a lot easier so these I think are a little bit more consonant with the look that I want to have here in the laundry room and I

Just think they’re a little bit better looking they’re them too yeah and and yes and I’ve still labeled these the other thing is these were really kind of wedged in here and when I had them doubled up it was too difficult to get them in and out so just using open top

Now too yeah singular one right I don’t have I don’t have a closed top it just makes them a little bit more accessible and I think just a little bit better looking so there are some little life luxuries again for me the most luxurious thing is something that makes my life

Easy here these have definitely made my life easier and hopefully they can make your life easier too all links are below so we start with the white cranberry white cranberry we did 75 so 3/4 of an oun of that so a/ o of fresh lime juice the Elder flow Lor St Germain

We’ll do an ounce of that oh my oh my our vodka we’re going to do 2 oz of to this now she does this so quickly and I would really have to be thinking really hard through each step she does make it look easy shake this

Guy I love these flavors I love the lime I love the it’s a very bright and cranberry oh my good that’s pretty And we’re back so before I show you how I trim them and how I feed them I want to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about this type of topiary in general you guys have been flooding my Instagram feed uh Facebook just everywhere with questions about

Topiary and I’m going to try to answer them so so Leah you’ve got a couple that people have shot to us recently besides most people asking where you Source them from which we already covered um Brenda Gail from Instagram says hi Linda will you explain what you do with Myrtle

Topiary once you get them home I have new and old in okay so that really depends on how they come and I addressed that a little bit earlier my ones from Angela they come potted in this beautiful terracotta pot they are are in a pot to match the scale of the plant

And I couldn’t do a more beautiful job potting them up um than they already are in when they arrive now these in the plastic pot not so much or this one which also came in a plastic pot not so much so if I’m going to spend this much

On a plant I really want to showcase it as beautifully and as elegantly as I possibly can so what I will do is unwrap it I will really hydrate it and I’m going to talk a little bit about uh watering later but I will really really

Hydrate it and then because I like to coordinate typically the containers as well as the plants themselves in a cohesive display then I want for the most part the containers to match and I certainly don’t want them to be in plastic so I will take this one out of

Its plastic pot I will just use some B basic good quality potting mix I will repot it in this Italian terracotta pot it will match the rest of my collection and I think it’ll be beautiful if when I take this out of its plastic pot it looks like it’s really really rootbound

Then I might go up a size and plot it and plot it plop it plot it and plant it in a pot that is a little bit bigger than the one it was growing in in but again it’s Al all for the beauty of the display so that they look really

Magnificent in Singularity or in a collection okay another question love it one more from Sarah Shan on Instagram she says where to start with topiary collection when can I begin to prune and shape my outdoor topiaries okay so Sarah let me say and I’ve I’ve gotten also on

YouTube I have screenshot a number of these similar questions where is a good place to start um I would say wait till this spring and by the way I want to make this as easy as possible for you so at the end of the video and in the

Description box below I’m going to supply with you a link to our comprehensive topiary playlist it is all things topiary we’re also going to put a link I think if we can find it to a garden gate magazine article that I once wrote All About topiary in all different

Forms not just this Myrtle topiary but boxwood Cyprus Juniper um even things that you just dig up from your garden so if you need a resource a comprehensive resource and how to for shaping for styling for maintaining them then you might want to access those resources in

The description box and at the end of the video um but now what was the question again when can she start when can you start okay uh you know I often say Know Thy Garden Know Thy Zone thy gardening zone Know Thy Weather check out 14 days in

Into the future but also know thy topiary so when you can start pruning on them kind of depends on the type of plant material so just follow the guidelines let’s say it’s a boxwood top follow the guidelines in your area and in your zone for pruning body boxwood in

General now if you’ve got let’s say this is a boxwood and you’ve got one outlier that’s just poking its head above the globular form and that’s driving you crazy by all means cut it off um so you can do a little bit of selective conservative pruning but if

You are really trying to turn an uh just a morphus shape boxwood into a perfect ball then I would wait a little bit till it starts putting out new growth in the spring for me here in Oklahoma that’s typically about March um but the other

Thing is I find that if if the boxwood is located in an area that’s not coming in and out of sun it’s not coming in and out of different degree variables in temperature then you can kind of also if it’s in other words if it’s in a more consistent environment you can start

Clipping on them too I won’t start clipping on my boxwood top are here until probably next month it all depends on what variety of topiary it is again you can access all of that topiary information and those resources that I that I listed below I would say that

Some of the easiest things things to topiary are boxwood common privet if you just want to a throwaway plant that you can’t make a mistake on dig up um a little privet that a bird has has dropped and seed it into your landscape it will go everywhere but privet

Sunshine lagustrum is easy um but you can also topiary you and some other things but I say start out with a boxwood that already has kind of a topiary shape and that’s where I would that’s where I would begin any other questions that’s all for now okay that’s

All for now well then I’m going to come up with my own answer to probably the most important question about growing uh Myrtle compacta and that is how do I water them so let’s take a little break and then we’ll come back and do that well these books that I’m I’m not

Necessarily reading as much as I am perusing will make brilliant Valentine’s Day gifts and one of them has a story and I’ll save it for last so these two the flower hunter uh I guess they’re both called the flower hunter named by and written by Lucy Hunter they are both gorgeous

Gorgeous books that really speak to the art of floral design in a much more Garden Centric way free form really beautiful um less kind of constipated if you will form of garden design they’re really really beautiful they flow they have movement they are just absolutely stunning and she is quite a talent you

Can follow her on Instagram but I just love the romance and the inspiration that she provides with some of her designs again they’re not FTD at all they are very very romantic in nature and just really seasonal and harmonious with I think um what I like to think of

As the that kind of bridge between gardening and Floral Design again there are two of them they’re both titled the flower hunter and I will put link below they would make wonderful wonderful Valentine’s Day gifts and might I suggest that you press some of your own blossoms in here when you gift them

Maybe some pansies maybe some helbor maybe some beautiful Fern fronds or something like that to make it very very special that’s how I think I would gift it if I were you this next book is one of my most prized possessions if I were I’m having to save some things from a

Fire this would be one of them I absolutely love this book it is one that I’ve had for a million years it inspired my love for topiary I actually checked it out of the library and I I renewed it so many times that I eventually renewed

It to the point where I couldn’t even locate it anymore um and finally I just had to fess up to the library and tell them that I couldn’t find it and I just needed to pay for it so so I did indeed pay for it it was already used when I

Got it but that way I got to keep the book because later I found it you can still I think there are still copies of it available I I love everything about it I love the images in it I I tuck some of my favorite to topiary um articles

Pictures of topiary things in it it largely concentrates on herbal topiary but also on display and design I love the Simplicity of the illustrations I just love everything about it so if you have a loved one who is really getting into topiary and want something that is both inspirational is poetic in nature

And makes a beautiful coffee table book I I swear I Leah loves the color of the clay cover so much that she exclaims every time she sees it and by the way I think it’s all the more beautiful because of the way it’s stained I love the patina on it it’s definitely been

Loved then you might want to add this to your collection or gift it to someone in your life for Valentine’s Day or Easter who is becoming infatuated with the Artistry and the practice of topiary okay let’s talk about watering read my lips write this down listen carefully never ever ever ever ever ever

Ever ever ever ever ever ever let them dry out because once they dry out completely they’re toast there’s no bringing them back the other reason you really want to make sure I mean I check mine every single day sometimes even twice a day if it’s in a very very hot

Location or a bright location is because most of the time to accentuate their form these topiary come in smaller pots so the smaller pots number one can’t hold as much water number two the um oh just the plant profile of this kind of Myrtle demands that it stay hydrated at

All times and so you really just can’t let them dry out and it pains me to show you this but I do suffer for you guys so this one right here was on the verge of drying out and we’re going to I’m going to get Stuart to show you a closeup

Right here if you see it is starting to complain notice how some of these branches are leaning over they’re hunkered over they’re wilting some they are not bright green they are no longer turgent and stand upstraight this is a definite sign that this plant needs watering and do it immediately so this

One I noticed it needed to be watered I did water it but I wanted to show you this so that you can see what it looks like when it is somewhat distressed if you get it while it’s just distressed you can keep it alive if it goes beyond

That Tipping Point there’s not much you can do so how do you water them well I’m not going to demonstrate here because it would be too messy but typically what I like to do is get a big bucket which is one of the reasons I like those collapsible rubber buckets I’ve showed

You them before I’ll try to put a link I just put that in my kitchen sink or in my garden I stretch it out it’s one of those accordion buckets I stretch it out and I submerge the entire plant the entire pot into that bucket of water I

Wait until the bubbles have stopped coming above the surface and then I take it out which means that all of the air has gone out of the container and it will prevent it from doing that thing which is so frustrating where it begins to separate from the sides and then you

Water it and the water runs down the side of the pot and it doesn’t um it’s not absorbed by the root ball so that’s a real tip now can you also just water them without dipping them in a bucket yes you can and when I do that what I

Will do is put them in some kind of tray sometimes it’ll be a metal tray a plastic tray or whatever I will water them real well and then I will also put some water in into the tray so they are watered not only from above but they are

Watered for Bel from below I don’t even worry about them standing in water because these are such thirsty plants that I’ve never had overwatering be a problem so if you’re going to air always air on the side of overwatering them especially if you’re keeping them inside in a really dry environment that is

Heated like our central air in heat right now another thing that you might want to consider is humidity another argument for putting it on top of a tray that might be filled with pebbles or something to keep the humidity up use a humidifier if your air is very very dry

And then just set them in a bright sunny location the brighter the better even direct sun because these are sun lovers I keep them out in full sun even in August outside in Oklahoma that’s just how much sun they can take take so they really appreciate lots of sunlight if in

The winter you using them as an indoor plant and they start to complain and I’m going to show you an example of that later if they start to complain if they start to drop their leaves you know what we all complain a little bit in the

Winter time we don’t want to be inside and neither do those plants so as long as they’re not dead just keep them going until you can put them outside in the spring maybe repot them give them a good dose of plant food and they’ll be happy

Again speaking of plant food what do I feed them with well right now they are starting to go into their active growth period And if you look at this one you can see some new growth that’s coming out from the plant profile that’s a little bit more it’s a lighter shade of

Green you can definitely distinguish that it’s new growth and that means that it’s time to start feeding them so I’m going to start giving them a gentle GLE feed what is a gentle feed a gentle feed to me is about half the recommended strength that it tells you to use on the

Back of the bottle but don’t overthink it if it’s a little bit stronger um don’t worry about it it’s just about giving them a good feed what do I use I like to use two different things I’ve used many things over the years just a good well-balanced liquid fertilizer I

Like this fox farm grow big liquid plant plant food it’s a 644 for vegetative growth we’ll put links to all of this below I also adore all of the espoma organic indoor products this one is 222 um indoor plant liquid food so I would suggest both of those they’re not

Stinky um or at least this one’s not stinky and even if it is suffer for your plants suffer for your top berries um so these work really really well now let’s take a break here CU I want to show you two older topiaries I have that

Are kind of sad that have been I don’t want to say abused um but a little bit mistreated just because of the move I’m going to show you them how I tend to care for them and how I’ll be clipping them well as you can see this tauper is

Almost as large as my head and it’s not unhappy but it’s not really happy it isn’t putting out any new growth yet um the there isn’t a lot of shine or luster to the leaves on the canopy and so I am definitely going to be giving this a

Really good feed I’m also going to repot it because I just think the soil isn’t a very good quality whatever potting mix I used last time I think I could have done better and so I’m going to repot it and I’m going to repot it into a real really

Large Italian brown clay pot I discovered that I can get these at bricks I’m going to pick up a couple of them there and I will repot this and it will be much much happier I might even let it be just a single ball topiary I

Might cut this off that kind of remains to be seen but it definitely needs to be shown a little bit of love as does this one now this one is really unhappy and I want to make it happy because this one was a start it was from a cutting

That Monica did for me many years ago and if you want to see that you can go back and look at some of our past videos but I grew this into a triple tier topiary form but it too has really suffered in all of the transitioning and

I want to get it back to really great health and I’m going to be doing that now this one I started feeding last week just to see if it would respond and indeed it is responding and there’s new growth on it and it’s also responding by shedding some of its old growth leaves

Which makes me a little bit unhappy but as long as it’s still alive I can do something with it it’s got pretty good form and what I’m going to do is I’m going to clip back each one of these Balls by about an inch I’m going to try

To not go too much into the brown wood but I am definitely going to clip it back enough so that I encourage new growth coming out I’ll do the same thing it’s pretty intuitive I’ll be doing the same thing with this one that needs to be sheared into a globular form you

Really can’t do it wrong just eyeball it don’t be afraid if you cut off too much that means the ball will just be that much tighter and that much denser and in the long run proba probably that much healthier so there’s just a few tips and

Tricks and what you might want to do and what you might not want to do if you want to grow this type of topiary we’ll be talking about other forms as the season progresses but if you want to give maybe a topiary as a valentine in

Lie of a bouay of flowers well I would support that but wait I’ve got a couple of extra things that might be important considerations for you when you use topiary inside or outside your house number one you will find that they look better at varying

Levels if you all have them at the same level they look a little bit more com commonplace so either buy topiaries at varying Heights so their heights get you at different levels or Elevate some of them this is a great idea whenever I go to the thrift store I always look for

Plant stands and I do steuart says and this is a way that you can Elevate any kind of topiary any kind of plant in general but it makes them all look so much more interesting when they’re at different heights so that’s a very important display um display notation I

Think the other thing is this is so so fun um I was out the other day and on my walks I’m always looking for things to forge and I love using unique things to mulch my my tow beeres with I have used miniature little cumquats I’ve used

Acorns I’ve used miniature pine cones I have used seeds I have used beans I have used all sorts of different fun things or even something as basic and elegant as Moss or even some of this Rafia um but this was a fun idea that I discovered as I was walking the other

Day because I Came Upon upon this just beautiful batch of blue it was just so pretty and I looked at it and I thought what is that well it was all sorts of juniper berries that had all fallen off of the tree and indeed when they’re all

Together and you pick all of the Riff Raff out of them all of the little leafy bits and the Twigs it really makes a beautiful beautiful mulch I’ve got some here on a on a colen COA and I’ve mulched it in this blue in the blue

Juniper berries I think I’m going to um I made a mental notation of where I was on that walk they were all over the sidewalk just getting squished and I decided to I decided to save them from that fate I scooped them up I stuffed them into my pockets and lo and behold

They live now another life adorning this or maybe a topiary in my collection and here you go here is my outfit dour my earrings are just simple inexpensive wooden earrings that come in a set on Amazon I believe I buy them by the book and I give them away as gifts

And I’ll see if I can find it and give you the link below okay I wanted to show you this outfit because practically everything in it is thrifted so my suede jacket that I love is thrifted and this is one of those items that I think I

Spent maybe $5 on but I took it to be um to be altered and tapered at the waist and I really just love the way it looks it feels luxurious and I love this kind of cross hatch seaming on it or threading on it um my top is also kind

Of thrifted I got it off of Poshmark It’s All Saints I love the color palette of it um my britches are not thrifted these are my new one of my new favorite pair of jeans these are from J Peterman I really love them they are so so

Comfortable and they are on on I think Deep Discount now I will try to see if they’ve still got them available to give you a link and then most importantly I wanted to show you guys these boots these were such a good deal they’re a

Faux suede they zip on and off and why I love them is because they are so so comfortable they look great with skirts they look great with um oh kind of these GAO design style pants Jeans SL whatever and but more importantly they’re at a great price point and imminently

Comfortable they’ve been my go-to goto boots this year and then I’ve just got an assortment of different bracelets and things most of which were just gifted to me by others or that I picked up at some art fairs so there you go there is my outfit of the Day Oh

43 Comments

  1. Love your home. Love your style and also you look lovely
    I only came across your videos lately and subscribed straight away. Thankyou great video. Best wishes from Ireland ❤

  2. Your topiaries look wonderful. Since they dry out so quickly, have you tried a wicking system? It would require a tall pot or a raised pot with a tray but it may be worth experimenting.

  3. I just love all of your toeps! I just read a great book called " The Other Einstein ". By Marie Benedict….. Very good book. My take…. Behind every smart man is a genus woman! It Is a good book and a true story! Love Your entire outfit! Your really stylin !!!!! Looking Great!

  4. I have always been taken with topiary but I haven’t ever purchased one. After finding you ages ago, I decided to try my hand at making one. I used one of my rosemary plants. I love it. I just ordered the book on topiaries that you suggested on this video. Looking so forward to receiving it. Thank you for all of you vital information that you provide as well as just the sweet and fun conversation between you Stuart, and Leah. 😍👍🏻

  5. Hi from Annie you look lovely in that outfit love the shirt matches well with the garden decor too. Toperies look nice too great for outside and inside or on the porch for V Day display. The fold down leaf collector bin is great a handy thing to have.and that box for outside storage of small tools and things which you can also sit on when you get tired outside and have a rest for few moments. That cocktail looks nice hope you enjoy few of them cheers. Hava nice V Day.

  6. Well, you got me hooked on topiary years ago Linda! BTW, you really coordinated your beautiful shirt with earrings and belt. Great outfit. AND….does the painting on the fireplace over your left shoulder have a name? It looks like Sisterhood of the Yaya, from which I got my grandmother name😊, YaYa. I love that painting and would love to hunt for it.

  7. I have five myrtle topiaries, they reside during the winter months in my south facing bedroom window, they get watered every day before bed, lol….plus, last winter, I started more than a dozen, they are still growing, it will take them a few years to get to a topiary size, probably one of the reasons they cost so much. I love the kangaru popup bag, but i suggest buying the one with the hard bottom, it will last longer, I learned the hard way.

  8. After losing my entire topiary boxwood collection to box moth (here in the UK) they are much missed. Always admired your Myrtles but could never find here BUT just managed to purchase one-off eBay ( last one ) reasonably priced , also got a used copy of the Potted Herb ! Thanks Lynda as always for all your amazing inspirational videos 🪴🌳🪴

  9. Loved all the garden helpmates! I have spent hours walking around my garden front & back yards, I'm exhausted before I even get started on my gardens.

  10. With a cup of tea your video was so great to watch. Your topiaries are so pretty and I can't wait to start on mine this spring. Just love all the information that you share and how well it is done. Just love you and your team!

  11. I have gotten so many good ideas from you. Thanks! I noticed that the new wicker baskets in the laundry room scrape on the shelf when you pull them out. They might end up tearing the wicker on the shelf. You might glue a plastic panel to the bottom of the basket so it doesn't scrape. You could use a thin plastic cutting board and have it cut to size. Thanks again for all of the great information.

  12. Thank you for providing links to order the topiaries. I have ordered 2. You are the one that started my love of topiaries years ago. I adore you!

  13. Hi Linda!
    No topiaries for me. But I did get that cordless blower. Thank you😊. Also check out John Costa pianist for Mr. Rogers. Had a superb career and terrific piano music. Happy Valentine’s Day❤️❤️ 🥰🥰❤️❤️🌷

  14. Linda, I have been a subscriber for the last 5-6 years and have always enjoyed your content. Unfortunately in the past year or so your videos have become more “sales pitches” and product promotion and there is little substantive gardening information anymore.

  15. Great intro to topiary! I think I will give it a try! One word of caution with mulching plants, I used some mulch one time that had pine in it, and within a few days, my rosemary started to turn brown!! It's important to understand what types of mulch certain plants like vs what will kill them!! If in doubt, use something like colored glass or marbles. I cut pieces of screening, which is completely breathable, to cover the tops of plants, before I add mulch. I do the same for my large Japanese maples outside, which are in pots. I add a layer of decorative gravel to the tops of the pots to help retain moisture, plus it gives them a very curated look.

  16. I found something new last season: it’s called beach ball pittosporum that grows in a round form all by itself. It has beautiful bright green leaves and black stems. It looks lovely with all my round boxwood balls!

  17. Thank you so much for sharing your sources with us. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think you need saucers that don't absorb moisture under the large pots on your front porch.

  18. Linda, you look especially pretty today. Love your blouse and jacket. Those colors are right in my color wheel !!

  19. What is the title of the peach book, all I could see is the Potted , would love to try to find it. Just getting into topiaries love your channel!

  20. Ah, Linda, seeing that lovely amaryllis I wonder if you could address their care once the blooms have finished.
    I'm new to growing them and picked up one variety I'd really like to keep.
    It's a dark red, almost black. I also have 3 pure white ones, but I'm less interested in keeping them. They took so long to emerge and were all leaves for so long.
    I'm sure you've covered this topic before so if you can provide a link, that would also be appreciated.
    Those topiaries have me wondering if I could handle some. I'm terrible growing indooe plants.

  21. I believe I have the same pink amaryllis from Color Blends that was in your closing shot. It’s performed wonderfully and is sending up a second set of blooms. I have really enjoyed it. Thanks for recommending Color Blends 😊

  22. I got a couple of the Myrtle topiaries a couple years ago, during the winter. I potted them with a cotton wick in the soil, ran the wick down through the drain hole, and put the whole pot into a container with a water reservoir in it so that the wick drew up the water. The pot itself was not down in water, but sat above the water reservoir with just the wick in the water. This actually worked really well all through the winter. Then, I did lose the plants in the spring and I learned the hard way, you are absolutely correct about letting them dry out. I had taken them out of the wicking reservoir and repotted them into pretty terracotta pots. I was able to keep them watered for several weeks, but I missed one day of watering, or about 48 hours between waterings and they dried out too much and would not come back. If I try again, they will be definitely be potted into self wicking containers of some kind.

  23. I can attest to your advice about the amount of water a myrtle topiary requires. I gave my daughter a 15 year old topiary, because I had to downsize my houseplant collection. It promptly succumbed, even though she swore that she watered it every day. 😭 I am sure that she did, but they take a crazy amount of water when they get to be of an advanced size.

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