Writing appearing in Martha Stewart, Sunset Magazine, Gardenista, Sonoma Magazine, Marin Magazine, garden and science educator, and landscape designer.
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Articles by Kier Holmes
Browse San Francisco - Gardenista
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Garden Visit: The French Laundry Culinary Garden in Yountville
Yountville, CA, in the heart of Napa Valley wine country, is home to Chef Thomas Keller’s revered French Laundry. Just across the street is a major key to its long list of accolades and decades of success (other than Chef Keller himself and his staff): the vibrant and robust 3.5-acre French Laundry Culinary Garden.
Browse Sweet Woodruff - Gardenista
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Browse Dead Nettles - Gardenista
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How to Make Hummingbird Nectar the Right Way (and Keep Your Backyard Birds Safe) Original
Credit: Robert D. Barnes / Getty Images Hummingbirds are spectacular to watch, but if you've been having a hard time attracting the birds to your backyard, there's one thing your landscape may be missing: hummingbird nectar. Due to their extremely high metabolism, hummingbirds have to visit hundreds of flowers a day. By making hummingbird nectar at home, you can help give these winged beauties the glucose energy they need to keep on humming.
Browse Dining Tables - Gardenista
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Tag: Tea & Coffee
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Browse Sweet Peas - Gardenista
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Required Reading: ‘A Year of Cut Flowers’ by Sarah Raven
“I know many gardeners share this feeling: cutting flowers is stealing the view and that splendid delphinium, huge pom pom peony, or lupine spear are best left growing outside,” writes world-renowned gardening expert and best-selling author Sarah Raven in her new book, A Year of Cut Flowers: A Life of Growing and Arranging for All Seasons.
Browse Studio Visit - Gardenista
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Garden Visit: A Wooded Wonderland in Western Hills Garden
When I was a child, my plant-obsessed parents would take my sister and me to any garden and nursery that was within reasonable distance from our home in Mill Valley, CA. One nursery we frequented, basically so my parents could buy obscure plants, required a journey through towering redwood trees and along winding roads. The trip felt like we were traveling far out to a hidden sanctuary. This was Western Hills Garden.
Browse Fences & Gates
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The Garden Decoder: What Is a 'Moon Gate'?
Some elements incorporated into gardens are common, basic, and even—dare I say—uninspired. And then there are garden features that are truly unique and make a statement. For me, moon gates are these standouts. Above: The enchanting garden of Irish garden designer Carl Wright could be straight from a children’s picture book.
Browse Lessons Learned - Gardenista
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5 Favorites to Plant
As if gardening weren’t challenging enough, sometimes deer take up residence in your garden and decide to host a dinner party. There is nothing worse than planting a bunch of pricey new plants, only to have them nibbled down to the ground. To help you avoid this costly occurrence and disappointment, I’m sharing a handful of my favorite deer-resistant shrubs that I have tested out over the years in various gardens.
Gardening 101: Oro Blanco Grapefruit Tree Original
The first thing to know is that Oro Blanco is not your grandma’s super tart grapefruit, the kind that puckers your lips and makes you squint like you’re staring at the sun. Oro Blanco is light years from this. A cross between an acid-less pomelo and a white grapefruit, Oro Blanco (or Oro) is a large citrus with a unique flavor. It’s surprisingly sweet, like a cross between honey and a pear. The real bonus is that it lacks the bitterness that most people shy away from.
11 Beautiful Backyard Birds to Watch for This Winter Original
Credit: AGoodeLife / 500px / Getty Images Wintertime may seem like a quiet, hibernating period until you start focusing on our feathered friends. Surprisingly, there are plenty of birds soaring, skittering, and swooping in the air at this time of year. And if your garden isn't yet a trending hot spot for birds, there are many ways to attract avian visitors during the winter.
Browse Lady's Mantle - Gardenista
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Browse Raised Beds - Gardenista
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Browse the Issue of Summer Start on
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Browse DIY Projects - Gardenista
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Browse the Issue of Fresh Air on
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Browse Staghorn Ferns - Gardenista
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Browse Citrus Trees - Gardenista
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Garden Visit: An 81-Year-Old Daily Gardener in Oakland Shares Her Lessons Learned
Ann Nichol’s home and garden in Oakland, CA, is impossible to miss. Fortunately, there is ample street parking on her block to pull over and gawk and be inspired by the colorful waves of plants on her property. When Ann and her husband moved into their home in 1983, the property was filled with agapanthus, a few camellia bushes and “tons and tons of crabgrass,” she says. After two years of clearing and amending the tired soil, Ann was ready to make the garden her own.
Winter Is Coming: How to Care for Houseplants When They Go Dormant
Just like us, houseplants want to hunker down for the colder and shorter days ahead. While your foliage friends might not appreciate a warm cup of cocoa or cozy scarfs, they do appreciate a little pampering and a lot of rest during the fall and winter months, when temperatures dip, light conditions dwindle, and moisture diminishes. Most plants will naturally slow down or stop growing at this point to conserve and store energy for growing season come spring.
Browse Hike of the Week
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Browse Fruits & Vegetables
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Browse South Africa - Gardenista
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Japanese Inflected
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Why and How to Plant Them
We’ve entered the season when our gardens are starting to gradually slow down in preparation for a restful winter. We gardeners, however, can’t help but keep on pruning, planting, and planning. One project to add to your list of late-fall chores to do in the garden: plant a fruit tree. And if you do, consider going with a dormant bare-root fruit tree.
Browse the Issue of The Basics on
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Browse Landscaping 101 - Gardenista
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Browse Botanical Gardens - Gardenista
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Browse Container Gardens - Gardenista
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Browse Olive Trees - Gardenista
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Browse Baby's Tears - Gardenista
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Best Flower Seeds to Sow in Fall for a Spring Bloom
Of course, the descriptor “best” is very subjective, but after countless years of trying/failing—and trying/failing some more—I think I’ve earned the right to come up with a list of “best” seeds to sow in the fall. Why fall? The short answer is that many seeds need a period of cold and moisture to properly germinate. Your seeds will lie dormant through winter and germinate in the spring.
Working in Harmony
Hudson Ranch and Vineyards is the classic Goldilocks scenario: Everything is just right: the right climate (not too windy, hot or cold); the right creative couple (Lee and Cristina Hudson) and the right dedicated team of 58 employees. More than just an acclaimed winery with 200 acres devoted to nine grape varietals, Hudson is a vibrant, fragrant and productive ranch where vegetables, flowers and creatures receive the same reverence and care as the vines.
Browse The Garden Decoder
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Browse Curb Appeal - Gardenista
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How to Grow and Care for Speedwell
I have planted different veronicas over the years, mainly because I always appreciate a very vertical plant that can contrast superbly with larger leaves like stachys or bergenias or play nicely with other vertical plants such as linarias. Despite my familiarity with the plant, though, I never stopped to question why it was named Veronica. Turns out, veronica is more than just a pretty flower.
Browse Water Gardens - Gardenista
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How to Grow the Petite Citrus Tree
I have a Meyer lemon tree and a lime tree on my property. Where I live, in Marin County, CA, it feels like everyone has a citrus tree of some sort—or at least knows someone with an over-productive citrus you can mooch off of. All of which is to say, I didn’t think I needed another citrus tree in my life. But that was before I met the kumquat tree.
Browse Edible Gardens - Gardenista
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Browse Garden News - Gardenista
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Cotula lineariloba
Description from Annuals and Perennials Ultra-fun, amusing and easy to grow! Spreading quickly to create a low, dense matting groundcover to 6” tall and 2’ across, you’ll love the soft, tactile, miniature ferny texture and large (1”), prolific golden dome-like “button” flowers held atop 4” upright, wiry stems. Blooms like crazy spring thru summer and is superbly suited for trailing over the edge of a bed, over and around rocks or growing out of an old washing machine.
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Evergreen Shrubs with a Natural Round Shape: Our Favorites
Anyone else love rounded shrubs? I’m not talking about topiary that’s been shaped into perfect balls thanks to Edward Scissorhands-like pruning. I’m talking about the shrubs that keep their attractive dome shape all by their leafy selves, with no intervention from us. You can usually tell that a shrub has a rounded growing habit just by its name. Look for words like: globular, ball, and mound. Lately, I’ve been seeing these words trending in the plant scene.
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