Living in the Pacific Northwest has taught me to pay attention to the light, or really, the lack of it. Growing up in California, I had no idea how intensely the seasons could shift until I moved to Seattle, where dusk feels like it hits at 3:30 and some days the sun barely seems to come up at all. It took me years to adjust to the rhythm of it. As a gardener, so much of what we do is tied to the light. The winter solstice has become one of my favorite turning points of the year. It's the shortest day, yes, but it's also the moment when everything shifts. We stop moving away from summer and start building toward spring again. There is something celebratory about realizing that from here, the light starts coming back, even if it's just a few minutes at a time.

This week, I'm talking about how I mark the winter solstice as a gardener and why I love these seasonal rhythms and the changing of seasons.

In this episode, I cover:

• Why the winter solstice is such a turning point for gardeners, marking the shift back toward spring
• Simple ways to celebrate solstice, from community walks to keeping your lights up a little longer than usual
• The connection between holiday lights, cultural traditions, and our need for brightness during the darkest time of year
• Why the change of seasons is my favorite, and how I like to slow down enough to really notice the changes

Resources:

• St. Edward State Park, Kenmore, WA

Connect with Us:

• Relish Gardens Website
• Follow us on Instagram
• Follow us on YouTube

If you loved this episode, make sure to subscribe and share it with a gardening friend. Until next time, I hope you find something in your garden to truly relish.

Have you ever had the feeling that you love your plants, but your garden doesn't quite reflect the story you were trying to tell? We collect plants we love, we're gifted things, we bring home treasures from the nursery, and over time, the garden can start to feel muddled. That's where editing comes in. It's the missing piece we don't talk about enough in garden design. Just like any creative work, a garden is only as strong as the edit you bring to it. In this episode, I'm talking about how to observe your space, identify what's working (and what's not), and refine your garden into something that feels intentional, clear, and truly yours.

In this episode, I cover:

• Why gardens can start to feel muddled over time
• Why editing is the overlooked skill in garden design
• How editing creates stronger, more intentional spaces
• Strategies for clarifying your garden's story

Connect with Us:

• Relish Gardens Website
• Follow us on Instagram
• Follow us on YouTube
• Free Fall Gardening Guide

If you loved this episode, make sure to subscribe. We've got new episodes every week. And if you know a gardening friend who'd appreciate this conversation, send it their way. Sharing the show helps grow our little garden-loving community.

Mature gardens become collections over time. Pots, plants, benches, impulse buys, inherited pieces, and at some point, that collection either feels magical or it just feels muddled. In this episode, I walk through how I use design parameters to guide every garden I design, why limitations actually make gardens better, and how they can reduce decision fatigue.

In this episode, I cover:

• How strong design parameters help you move between gardens, make faster decisions, and avoid creative fatigue
• Why mature gardens can often feel muddled instead of magical, and how design parameters fix that
• The difference between a collector's mindset and a curator's mindset when building a garden
• What immersive experiences like Meow Wolf and Disneyland can teach us about garden design, storytelling, and creating intentional spaces
• Real examples from my award-winning Northwest Flower and Garden Show gardens, and how completely different parameters created two totally distinct spaces
• Why limitations, when developed ahead of time, contribute to stronger and more well-defined gardens

Resources and Links:

• Meow Wolf
• Relish Gardens 2025 NWFGS Show Garden
• Relish Gardens 2024 NWFGS Garden
• Download our FREE Fall Gardening Guide

Connect with Us:

• Relish Gardens Website
• Follow us on Instagram
• Follow us on YouTube

If you loved this episode, make sure to subscribe—we've got new episodes every week. And if you know a gardening friend who'd benefit from thinking about their garden through a curator's lens, send this their way. Sharing the show helps grow our little garden-loving community.

Until next time, I hope you find something in your garden to truly relish.