I got a note the other day from Jennifer Beaver, who writes the "Garden Variety" column for the Signal Tribune Newspaper in Southern California. Jennifer sent me her Garden Trends for 2010, in response to my post about the Best and Worst of the last decade. I got a good laugh during the introduction, where Jennifer talks about the renewed popularity of gardening and how this humble hobby has "...suddenly become fodder for cocktail chatter... I was holding forth on composting at a recent birthday party and people were actually peppering me with questions. This never happened when I wrote about IT and data processing."

I've had similar experiences. People who viewed my hobby as somewhat less than indulging in the arts or collecting antiques are now pulling me aside for advice on plant stakes and leaf spot.

Has the increased interest in home gardening turned you into the Go To Expert on all things leafy? Do ears perk when they find out you're a gardener? Or do you find yourself being lectured to by gardening newbies who fancy themselves experts already? Either way, isn't it nice to be able to talk about gardening at parties?

Photo: Mark Wilson / Getty Images News

A group of garden designers have gotten together on Twitter to form a garden design bloglink. They're celebrating regional diversity, which is kind of funny right now, when we're all experiencing the same deep freeze. But like good gardeners everywhere, the designers are focusing on the best their areas have to offer and the postings have been excellent.

I loved how Genevieve, at North Coast Gardening, dispels the usual excuses for not wanting to plant natives (no flowers, ugly flowers, messy flowers...) and makes the case for using native plants as a jumping off point in your garden design. Like choosing burgundy foliage plants to play off the new burgundy tinged stems of Arctostaphylos uva-ursi.

I thought Susan Cohen, at Miss Rumphius' Rules, did a great job combining regional charm with sustainable style. Susan came up with the idea for this bloglink while talking about designing in her region, the Skylands of New Jersey. Of her 5 Simple Rules, my favorite is "Super Size It". Make your foundation planting area large enough to accommodate the mature size of plants and shrubs, so you're not pruning them into contorted versions of themselves.

Pam Penick's Digging blog talks about her Zone 8b Austin, TX garden and the photos are a sight for a snow frosted gardener's sore eyes. Oh, to be able to grow those agave. She tackles the question, "How do you translate a regional look into a garden setting?" In addition to regional natives, Pam puts a lot of regionality into the hardscaping.

Rebecca Sweet, over at Gossip in the Garden, had an extremely interesting perspective about respecting both culture and climate. Rebecca designs for a lot of folks who've moved to California from other countries. These clients want plants that remind them of home and Rebecca often has to walk the fine line of satisfying the client's wish list while dealing with the practicality of a hot, dry climate. So Rebecca's come up with what she calls "California-Fusion" style and it's something we could tweak for our own areas. (Although, again, her photos are giving me zone envy. That's part of my garden in the photo.)

Each of these blog posts will lead you to all the rest. If you've begun thinking of what you want to plant next year and you don't want it to look like a big box special, they have great tips for how to view your garden through regional eyes.

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

Planning season has started and to do it properly, we need lots and lots of plant and seed catalogs. Make sure you're on the mailing list for these top choices. You'll want to get them early so you'll have time to talk yourself down from ordering enough plants to reforest your state. But spoil yourself a little. You only learn by planting.

And make sure you understand what they're saying, before you place your order. For instance, what's the difference between a flower that blooms all season and a repeat bloomer. Learn a little catalog speak and you'll know what to expect from your plants.

And let us know if there's a catalog you love, that's not on the list.

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

I received a collection of tiny, dwarf evergreens from the amazing Iseli nursery last fall and I want to make a hypertoufa container for them this spring, if they make it through the winter. Hypertoufa planters, those trough-like containers that look like expensive, antique cement planters and are usually filled with wonderful oddities from the world of succulents, but Iseli had several in their display gardens filled with these miniature forests and they were breathtaking.

Hypertufa is one of the most easily made, yet under-made garden crafts. The materials are all available from the local hardware store and anyone who can make a mud pie stands a good chance of success in making a hypertufa planter. Sure, it can be messy, but when has that deterred a gardener from creating something unique and wonderful for their garden?

Hypertufa planters are a wonderful way to bring the look of stone into your garden. They can be left out all year and, unless you get carried away with size, are light enough to move about. Here are several different recipes and some wonderful suggestions to get you started.

Photo: © Marie Iannotti