Fall is SUCH a good time to take advantage of still-mild weather to get out in the yard and plant those late-season-loving things like:

• Spring-bulbs like tulips

• Perennials

• Trees

• Shrubs

Persosnally, I'm a trees and shrubs guy.Since we moved onto our Squalicum Mountain property, I've planted some:

• Deodar Cedars that have doubled in height (to about 12-14 feet)

• Giant Sequoia, the largest trees on the planet, that are thriving down by our ninja gym.

• Thunderhead Japanese Black Pine, that have absolutely flourished and are one of my favorite pines for their incredible full-bodied shape.

All of these trees I bought from Kent's Garden & Nursery at 5428 Northwest Dr. just north of Smith Rd.

I've mentioned in the past that Kent's is now owned by my good friends Isaac and Laurie Burrous.

(Yes, they did the landscape design and plantings at the new BNP headquarters on Lakeway.

)If you haven't been to Kent's in a while... by all means GO!

(And look for Gift Card contest details at the end of the blog post.)

Every good landscape combines the softness and soulful vibrance of living flora, with the enduring hardness and permanence of rock, stone, sand and sculpture.

(I don't actually know if that's true, but I needed a segue).

For your rock, soil, sand, gravel, pavers, and sculptures, there's only one place I recommend:

Northstar Stone & Landscape Supply at 4840 Pacific Highway, just east of I-5 off the Slater Rd. exit.

Just this morning Heather and I browsed their supply of paver stones for our backyard patio area.

This place has soooo many options whether you're looking to build a paver patio, a retaining wall, a fire pit or even a pizza oven.You just have to get there, walk around, and the inspiration will hit you!

We settled on a gorgeous collection of large "stand-up" pavers called Sockeye.

We scheduled delivery of several pallets, along with a yard of limestone gravel, so our friend Chris Mellick can work his artistic genius on our backyard patio area.

I'll be sure to share some pics of the finished project later this year.

(And watch for those details below on how to win a Northstar gift card!)

Below is the Sockeye paver we chose...

Let's give away some GIFT CARDS!!!

I've got two gift cards to give away to two lucky blog post readers!

One is for Kent's Garden & Nursery

The other is for Northstar Stone & Landscape Supply.

To enter, just reply to this blog post with literally ANY thoughts, ideas, feedback, suggestions, a review, a critique, a lymric...

Anything at all.

Anyone I hear from will be entered into a random drawing, and we'll announce the winners in the next blog post.

brandon@brandonnelson.com