Winter gardens are just sad I don’t find brown, lifeless plants particularly interesting. Many don’t have any notable form or shape. They’re just dead things sticking up with maybe some seeds or pods at the top. Not so interesting. Let the birds take the seeds, and what’s left? Sure, some may have a bit of … Read more
If there’s one thing which obsesses most gardeners it’s filling up every available space in the garden. Preferably in layers. When I was a novice Christopher Lloyd terrified me with things like this, how to have one thing on top of another: All about layering things up so that there’s never a dull moment…. … Read more
Mother Nature’s emissary, winter storm Elliott, swept through the US bringing rapidly plummeting temperatures and snow Dec 22-23rd. Here in Louisville, it went from 55F in the evening, to -5F the next morning. A 60 degree drop. The weather folks called this a flash freeze. Jeez. In 20+ years I have not seen the … Read more
It seems two of us have been on holiday. Rather a contrast – one of us to the desert, and me to — Chipping Campden. Which is just about as far away as you’ll get me from home, and a long way from a desert. So if any of you think of visiting our garden … Read more
It’s that first perfect spring day that happened to fall on a weekend and we’re all outside trying to get caught up. Our failings are so incredibly evident, but beside them, amongst them, beautiful little gems throughout the garden are calling out, hoping for some of the attention they deserve. Do we see them or … Read more
Readers may recognize Colston Burrell as the garden designer, writer and speaker, perhaps best known for his knowledge of plants that are native to Bird Hill, his garden on a woodsy hillside near Charlottesville, Va. I had run into Cole at a conference or two but never seen his famous garden – until this spring … Read more
Last week I shared photos of Colston Burrell’s garden near Charlottesville, Va. and promised to show off two amazing gardens in that historic city. Here ya go! The Garden of Podcaster Leslie Harris I visited Charlottesville at the invitation of Leslie Harris (no relation) whose podcast I’d been catching up with since we met in … Read more
Classic Beach Hydrangeas THIS is the classic beach landscape of my childhood memories, formed while visiting the charming, family-friendly Buckroe Beach in Virginia. The cottages there were much smaller but I remember them with mophead hydrangeas along the front. These days my beach trips are in spring and fall, before and after hydrangeas bloom, and … Read more
Folks around here have taken to calling it the “Boxwood Winter.” Named for that fabled Dec. 23, 2022 day when we were all waiting for Santa Claus and an artic blast flew in instead dropping the temperatures 50 degree in twelve hours. Heavy winds. Sub-zero readings. Frozen rain. Death or serious injuries to our all … Read more
Readers are likely used to my talking about Garden Walk Buffalo at this time of year. The big walk is this weekend (7/29-30); it is the grand finale to a month of Open Gardens and smaller regional tours – almost all free and almost all uncurated. You don’t have to do anything to be … Read more