As a designer, I counsel people all the time about the long-term growth of a plant, but in reality, I plan to achieve most of their goals somewhere in the 5-year time frame. The reality of residential design is that people don’t have the patience or space for things that get really big (over a … Read more
I gasped when I saw this. To be honest, I wasn’t sure it was real – perhaps only a trick of rendering software. But no, this is (was) a real life hotel located in Helsinki.Too bad I am a day late and dollar short. The building was a temporary installation that was removed in September … Read more
Living in a rather snowy and cold zone 5 climate, figs never really crossed my mind as a homegrown option. That is until a couple of years ago, on a walk, I noticed a fig tree alongside the road not far from my house. I was shocked; it seemed to be growing unassisted – since … Read more
Tucked away in the town of Hillsborough, North Carolina, is one of the most charming and endearing gardens that I have ever visited. This special place, called Montrose, has been gardened since 1977 by Nancy and Craufurd Goodwin. Originally the home of North Carolina governor and senator, William Alexander Graham, Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin have … Read more
Here is what is inspiring me today: The World Beach Project – it is an online gallery of art made by all kinds of people. It features stones gathered on beaches from around the globe. The project was devised by artist-in-residence Sue Lawty in association with the always-inspiring Victoria & Albert Museum. Building on the … Read more
I discovered Havetid years ago when I was headed to Belgium for a month. I was looking for places (gardens, museums, off-the-beaten-path explorations) that I wanted to enjoy in the region. In my search, I discovered the Havetid garden blog. It turned out that the garden itself was beyond the range of my expected travels … Read more
Bilbao, Spain, has noteworthy architecture and has been on my list of must-see places for a while. Now, I have yet another reason for wanting to visit. This stunning garden – dubbed The Flowing Garden – was created by the New York-based landscape and urban design office of Balmori Associates. Block planting creates a painterly … Read more
We’ve covered hydrangeas a few times here at GardenRant, like this post and this one too, but we’re now in what has slowly become my personal favourite part of the hydrangea season. White flowers turning pink in a glorious display They are way past their peak now; those nice clear colours we admired in summer … Read more
We had two long hot and dry spells in the DC area this summer, and their impact can be seen all over town. Lots of dead conifers, especially Yews and Arborviteas. (Junipers seemed to thrive.) The drought also killed some broad-leaf evergreens, like these Cherry Laurels. And these grand old Rhododendrons. Which made me … Read more
The front yard captured in a 2022 Google map photo. There’s a red brick house behind all the vegetation, and it’s one of the 1,600 units in my co-op. The owners (actually, we’re “members” since don’t own our units; we just buy the right to live in them) had spent years creating all that screening … Read more