We are super thrilled to be included in Garden Design Magazine’s “Ultimate Outdoor Home” at this year’s ASLA EXPO.  Landscape Architects, if you haven’t seen Woolly Pockets in action yet, this is your chance! Just look up and keep an eye out for the giant living chandelier (off to the right when you walk in).  We’ve also crafted a double-sided living wall in the “Lounge” area, adding a bit of privacy under the shady pergola.

AND our Pockets (along with the rest of the UOH) are brimming with beautiful Monrovia plants.  Be sure and check out the first crop of their fab new blueberry in the garden!

In case you’re curious, here are the plant lists for the walls.  On the Lounge side, we wanted to create a soothing, shade tolerant meadow of grasses and grass-like perennials.  On the Hedge side, a sunnier habitat garden – an excellent backdrop for your vegetable plot perhaps!  Almost everything is appropriate for Washington DC’s Zone 7, a good thing as we’re sending these walls to nearby schools and parks after the show (recycling is kinda our thing)!

Wally loves herbs (and vegetables)! This charming surf shack grows annual vegetables, perennial herbs, and some flowers for the pollinators.

Window Wally (W3)
One cherry tomato anchors each pocket, flanked by basil (a good companion plant – Genovese and ‘Magic Mountain’), Swiss chard (‘Bright Lights’) and ornamental salvias (Cleveland Sage, ‘Sage of Bath’). The dramatic black sweet potato, Ipomea ‘Chillin’ Blackberry Star’ will spill down to the ground as spring turns to summer. Always plant a few flowers to make sure your veggies get pollinated.

Herb Door (W1 x 5)
Top row: prostrate rosemary (on sides), evergreen bunching onions, everbearing strawberries
Pepper row: ‘Yolo Wonder,’ ‘Chervena Chuska,’ ‘Golden Treasure’ with Greek and Italian oregano spilling over
Eggplant row: (two each)‘Lavender Touch,’ ‘Chinese Eggplant’ – with thymes (German and ‘Variegated Lemon’)
Fourth row: cilantro, onion chives, Italian parsley
Mint row: ‘Orange mint,’ ‘Pineapple Mint,’ ‘Apple mint,’ ‘Spearmint’

Ingredients:
one sunny wall (at least six hours of full sun!)
herbs, vegetables, flowers (plants and/or seeds)
really good potting soil (vegetable mix)
Wallys – as many as you like! (hanging hardware included)
handy water source (hose or big watering can)
organic vegetable food
tools: level, drill, masking tape, pencil

Instructions:
1) Measure your space, calculate your Wally order, shop for plants and soil.
2) Hang your Pockets
3) Fill halfway with soil
4) Plant your garden
5) Water (regularly) + feed (follow the instructions!)
6) Harvest + eat

photo credit: Suthi Picotte

Notes:
Think about how your plants will grow, both on top and in the Pockets. Aggressive rooters, like mints, should be in their own Pocket as they won’t be good neighbors.

Combine upright plants (eggplant, peppers, onions) with low growing and spilling plants (oregano, strawberries, sweet potatoes).

Plant what you really want to eat and drink. Hate salads? Don’t plant lettuce. Love mojitos? Plant LOTS of mint!

Don’t forget to include some flowers. Many of the herbs will bloom, but you need some big beautiful blooms to attract those friendly pollinators.

Trim the bigger plants (tomatoes, rosemary, sweet potatoes) as they get leggy. Pick the fruit as it ripens, and cut off herb stems and leaves as needed – don’t pull out the roots though, as they will keep growing.

Replace annual vegetables and flowers as their seasons end. If your climate allows, rotate crops seasonally (broccoli in the fall), and try a cover crop (alfalfa, vetch) from seed in the winter, or early spring, to refresh your soil.

Compost? Worms? Winter color? More on these to come…

Happy Gardening!
Stephanie

Citrus trees are wonderful house plants, oozing clouds of sweet fragrance when they bloom (right about now!) and cheerfully sprouting fruit soon after.  Here in Los Angeles they can live outside year-round, and they are one of my favorite things to put in a pot, especially by the front door.

This Variegated Calamondin Orange, from Monrovia, is my new favorite.  It has tiny round oranges that are juicy but sour and perfect for marmalade and cocktails.  The light green leaves splashed with yellow add drama and color.  Just the thing for Brian.

If your hometown is less tropical, you can move your trees outside for the summer (after frost danger is past), then bring them indoors for the winter.  Make your own orangerie in front of your sunniest South-facing window with a few lightweight Islands (big Brian is best for this).  Thinking he’ll get lonely? A Variegated Pink Lemonade lemon and juicy Mexican Thornless Lime will also be happy wintering indoors, rounding out your new citrus grove nicely!

Happy Gardening!
Stephanie
Materials:
1 x Brian
1 x Calamondin Orange Tree (5 gallon)
Potting Soil

Instructions:
Unzip Brian and add 2” of potting soil.  Remove plant from its plastic pot and gently massage its roots.  Place on potting soil base.  Zip Brian up, adding more soil around the edges as you go (don’t stuff – go for a relaxed fit).  Don’t cover the top of the plant with any extra soil – citrus trees like to have their root crown (the very top part of their roots) exposed to the air.  Enjoy!

Upkeep:
Citrus need lots of sun, so if you don’t have a sunny South facing window (or if there’s a tree or tall building in the way), consider investing in supplemental full spectrum lighting.  Water weekly, or more often if its extra dry inside.  Brian will “sweat” extra water out the sides, so you’ll know if you’re overwatering.  Don’t water if he feels damp.  Citrus are also heavy feeders, so use a good quality organic citrus food, and follow the instructions.