Tobey Nelson Horticulture

Tobey Nelson Horticulture Planet-friendly horticulture | Garden coaching | Speaker & Educator Wedding and Event Planner & Floral Designer. Formerly Vases Wild. Local delivery available.

Specializing in local, sustainable, 100% American grown blooms and non-toxic materials. Serving Whidbey Island & the greater Seattle area and available for travel anywhere. Think of us when you need flowers for a wedding or party, as well as birthday, get well, congratulations, or sympathy. We specialize in weddings and event design, and source locally grown and American flowers, always arranging

them with non-toxic methods - we never use poisonous, non-biodegradable floral foam. We also do landscape design for Whidbey Island residences. We just can't get enough of plants!

Took advantage of the great fall planting weather to help a client add appral to their new home. Here’s a low-maintenan...
10/31/2025

Took advantage of the great fall planting weather to help a client add appral to their new home. Here’s a low-maintenance, drought-tolerant planting that should be super deer resistant as well! I’ll look forward to seeing it fill in next summer, when the shrubs and grasses will help screen and soften the septic tank lids and the utility unit.

With the rain finally wetting the ground, sheet mulch season has officially begun - my favorite time of year! This no-di...
10/24/2025

With the rain finally wetting the ground, sheet mulch season has officially begun - my favorite time of year! This no-dig method of killing grass is great to really develop a deep organic layer of soil. Here are the steps I follow.

1. Annoy my spouse all summer by hoarding massive and inconvenient amounts of cardboard as big as I can score! 😛

2. Fork out deeply rooted w**d species such as dock, dandelion and blackberry. Sheet mulch won’t kill these guys.

3 Spread at least a few inches of organic matter. Sometimes this is w**ds and leaves, this time it was arborist chips mixed with sheep manure (thus the curious terrier keeping watch in the photo). *the deeper your layer, the better kill of all plants below your layer** It requires a lot to knock out bentgrass, and thin layers can even encourage stuff like sorrel. (Nothing natural kills Canada Thistle, sorry).

4. Water the heck out of it. Decomposition needs moisture and you’ll be sealing the ground off from getting water for awhile until the cardboard rots.

5. Spread a at least a double layer of cardboard, wetted on all sides. Make sure you have good overlap and no holes.

6. Top with more organic material. I usually use arborist chips but this time a couple inches of local topsoil had to suffice while I await my chip drop.

7. Water some more and wait patiently for rot to happen. Usually it takes a good year for the best results. But your patience will be rewarded with a nice deep layer of organic matter, and you didn’t have to dig and release a bunch of carbon into the air. And you used waste products! Yay!

8. My last step is yet to be done in these photos, and that is to dig a trench to tuck the cardboard into along the edge, paired with some sort of edging - like reclaimed old plastic lumber, etc.

I love peachy Dahlias! Which is your fave?
10/06/2025

I love peachy Dahlias! Which is your fave?

Almost every day of the year I love my Seven Sons Tree, Heptacodium micinoides, and especially on this beautiful autumn ...
10/06/2025

Almost every day of the year I love my Seven Sons Tree, Heptacodium micinoides, and especially on this beautiful autumn day! It’s been flowering for weeks - in the fall! - and now those sweetly scented white blooms are giving way to these attractive bracts. And I haven’t even mentioned the bark!

If you need a year-round interest small tree for sun that is drought and deer tolerant, consider this one!

Here are a couple of before & after shots (by Stadler Studio Photography) of a garden I designed a couple seasons back. ...
09/30/2025

Here are a couple of before & after shots (by Stadler Studio Photography) of a garden I designed a couple seasons back. This was a collaboration with the homeowner/client Miller Custom Construction. We ditched the lawn, made the garden areas work harder, made the paving lower maintenance, screened the pickleball court, added an outdoor kitchen moment, and softened the whole area with green hedges and a lovely Japanese Maple in a planter. Do you like it? This is a great example of the fun changes a good landscape design can create!

From my garden to yours - here are a few plants for late summer color. All are deer & rabbit resistant!
09/03/2025

From my garden to yours - here are a few plants for late summer color. All are deer & rabbit resistant!

Hiked to Barclay lake this weekend. Lots of fascinating rock+tree moments. A worthwhile walk! Does anyone else like to ...
09/02/2025

Hiked to Barclay lake this weekend. Lots of fascinating rock+tree moments. A worthwhile walk! Does anyone else like to use this sort of natural inspiration for their garden?

WOW! It’s for real! PLANT NERD FOR HIRE! I’m officially open for business full time. I offer garden coaching/consulting...
08/28/2025

WOW! It’s for real! PLANT NERD FOR HIRE! I’m officially open for business full time. I offer garden coaching/consulting and design as well as specialty pruning and pruning lessons. Please let me know if you need some help with your garden, and please spread the word!

We went to Soos Creek Botanical Garden last weekend. I really enjoyed the mature borders full of trees and shrubs chosen...
08/27/2025

We went to Soos Creek Botanical Garden last weekend. I really enjoyed the mature borders full of trees and shrubs chosen for fruit, scent and color too. I recommend a visit next time you’re near Auburn!

Two native perennials flowering now in my garden, Solidago missouriensis and Douglas aster. (Photo taken in early mornin...
08/26/2025

Two native perennials flowering now in my garden, Solidago missouriensis and Douglas aster. (Photo taken in early morning, too cool for all the pollinators yet!).

Since I’m a beekeeper I take special care to include natives alongside the ornamentals - that way there’s a feast for everyone, including a feast of beauty for my eyes!!

Do you know I offer pruning lessons? If you don't quite know how to manage the trees or shrubs in your garden, or if you...
08/25/2025

Do you know I offer pruning lessons? If you don't quite know how to manage the trees or shrubs in your garden, or if you need to learn how to "fix" some previous bad pruning, I can help! DM me for info or to make an appointment.

Or if you don't want to do it yourself, I can do it for you! I specialize in small trees like Japanese Maples and Stewartia, etc. as well as fruit tree pruning. Message me for info.

Really enjoyed touring PowellsWood Garden today! Such a lush setting. The garden makers did a wonderful job with creatin...
08/24/2025

Really enjoyed touring PowellsWood Garden today! Such a lush setting. The garden makers did a wonderful job with creating lots of strolling paths with inviting spaces along the way. It was a delight to see so many mature trees. Also lots of inspiring texture contrasts in the plantings.

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Langley, WA
98260

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(360) 632-0686

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Our Story

We believe every couple deserves a beautiful and relaxing wedding day. We provide wedding planning & wedding flowers for weddings on Whidbey Island & the greater Seattle area. We also provide event design, event planning and floral design for corporate events, parties and any sort of special occasion. We are wedding specialists. We used to be called Vases Wild.

Our floral designs feature locally grown flowers grown and arranged in an eco-friendly way. Our wedding planning services are fully customizable and include day-of coordination all the way through to full planning. We are here to help you in whatever way you need!