November 17, 2020
ome people think throwing soil into a container and plopping in a plant makes for good container gardening procedure. Well I'm here to burst THAT BUBBLE!
I 'm Sheri Burke, plant lover, and let me say that if there is a plant nursery on my daily path of errands, I stop. If there is a nursery on my path to my BFF’s house, I stop. If there is a nursery on my path to visit family, I stop.
This stop-for-every-nursery path of mine led me to the idea of making yearly trips with my Aunt Patti (just as crazy about all things plants as I am) with no objective except to visit nurseries and public gardens. We pick a general destination, let’s say Oregon. We make a list of all the nurseries on our path, depending upon which freeway we decide to travel. And we head out!
I drive, Aunt Patti navigates. And we have a rule: she has her side of the vehicle, I have mine, and the two cannot encroach on the other without paying rent or a free plant. We take food and drink with us because stopping somewhere to eat means less time at a nursery!
Only after we have been thrown out of the last nursery for the day do we start looking for a hotel. Luckily, we have not had to sleep in the car. We love living on the edge. So come along and enjoy with us our journey of plant nursery joy!
First Visit?
JUST A SUGGESTION! Begin with post 01 Dragonfly Farm. Find my archives here.
November 6, 2020
My dream—for after we had our construction company, Burke Construction, operating smoothly for a few years—was to open a nursery of my own which I would name "A Plant Boutique." But as things go, "a few years" turned into 20!
October 30, 2020
Oh where do I begin?! Did I mention I love love love container gardening?! It is an art to pick the right plant for a container. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s the ART of it! LOL!
October 16, 2020
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG! The San Antonio Botanical Garden is BY FAR one of the most amazing botanical gardens I have visited! The variety of gardens, their spectacular designs, the stunning garden art, the hardscape, the building structures, the greenhouses and on and on.
September 30, 2020
Such beauty! And ornamental grasses are low maintenance, low-water usage, and bring amazing variety of color, size, shape and contrast to the garden. If you are one of those who don't like ornamental grasses, I have to ask, "Are you somehow impaired?!"
September 18, 2020
I can’t remember the name of the first nursery catalog I bought from, but I do remember receiving the package. Here I am with giddy anticipation, ripping open the box, expecting to see plants that look JUST LIKE the catalog pictures. And what do my eyes see? Twigs and clumps of dirt. What in the hell was I supposed to do with these?
September 7, 2020
I love love love container gardening. Talk about instant impact with little effort (does not require a digging bar :) I tried to write just one blog post about container gardening but ended up with over 6 pages—and that's before photos! So I chopped it into 3 parts. You're welcome.
August 28, 2020
Back in the day, I was stupider about plants. I am now paying the price.
Let's go back some 25 years. My husband has always loved bamboo, so I put a few varieties of bamboo in one of those extra large wine barrels (stupid mistake #1) and placed it on soil (stupid mistake #2).
August 30, 2024
My readers know how much I "dig" container gardening. Can't say it enough: I L.O.V.E. POTS! And, omigosh, did I get "pot-lucky" recently when a lovely couple who bought a 30-year-old house wanted me to give the backyard landscape a makeover, saying, "We want pots everywhere."
Sheri Lynn Burke
My journey began as a small child watching and helping my mom in the garden. Years later, I bought a home, had those kids, had an ugly landscape and thought, "I can do better." So for the next 10 years, thousands (and thousands) of dollars went to plants. But I became a serial killer as 80% of them died. "Screw this!" I said. I had an eye for design but didn't know how to keep the damn plants alive! I procrastinated for 5 years ('cuz I wanted more death) and then became a certified Master Gardener. Four years and three pieces of paper later, I got a Horticulture degree. No longer a serial killer, I'm now a landscape designer and contractor with my own business. I had to train this green thumb that I got from my mother. But, Mom, I owe it all to you!
November 17, 2020
ome people think throwing soil into a container and plopping in a plant makes for good container gardening procedure. Well I'm here to burst THAT BUBBLE!
November 6, 2020
My dream—for after we had our construction company, Burke Construction, operating smoothly for a few years—was to open a nursery of my own which I would name "A Plant Boutique." But as things go, "a few years" turned into 20!
October 30, 2020
Oh where do I begin?! Did I mention I love love love container gardening?! It is an art to pick the right plant for a container. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s the ART of it! LOL!
October 16, 2020
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG! The San Antonio Botanical Garden is BY FAR one of the most amazing botanical gardens I have visited! The variety of gardens, their spectacular designs, the stunning garden art, the hardscape, the building structures, the greenhouses and on and on.
September 30, 2020
Such beauty! And ornamental grasses are low maintenance, low-water usage, and bring amazing variety of color, size, shape and contrast to the garden. If you are one of those who don't like ornamental grasses, I have to ask, "Are you somehow impaired?!"
September 18, 2020
I can’t remember the name of the first nursery catalog I bought from, but I do remember receiving the package. Here I am with giddy anticipation, ripping open the box, expecting to see plants that look JUST LIKE the catalog pictures. And what do my eyes see? Twigs and clumps of dirt. What in the hell was I supposed to do with these?
September 7, 2020
I love love love container gardening. Talk about instant impact with little effort (does not require a digging bar :) I tried to write just one blog post about container gardening but ended up with over 6 pages—and that's before photos! So I chopped it into 3 parts. You're welcome.
August 28, 2020
Back in the day, I was stupider about plants. I am now paying the price.
Let's go back some 25 years. My husband has always loved bamboo, so I put a few varieties of bamboo in one of those extra large wine barrels (stupid mistake #1) and placed it on soil (stupid mistake #2).
August 30, 2024
My readers know how much I "dig" container gardening. Can't say it enough: I L.O.V.E. POTS! And, omigosh, did I get "pot-lucky" recently when a lovely couple who bought a 30-year-old house wanted me to give the backyard landscape a makeover, saying, "We want pots everywhere."