Month: June 2011
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The Song of Summertime Salad …
The Song of Summertime Salad On long summer days —in order to beat the heat and burning rays of the noontime sun— I typically start my day quite early. There are many things to love about the daybreak hours, from birdsong and dew drops to shimmering morning light. If I’m working nearby, I try to […]
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Ferncliff, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Garden Room, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening
Misty Mountain Top: Painted Ledges & Secret Garden in Summertime Fog …
The Entry Garden on a Misty, Late June Morning (Left to right foreground:Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Summer Wine’ & Sambucus racemosa ‘Sutherland Gold’- see descriptions below for other plantings) Sunny summer days are glorious; filled with shimmering, gold fields and blue, shadowed valleys. I love long strolls through garden paths with the sun’s warmth on my skin. […]
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An Unexpected Garden Guest …
North American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) in a Marshy Area at the Edge of the Forest The young black bear seemed content; bathing in the pool, while sampling wild berries and greens We kept a watchful eye on one another throughout the visit On my way out to the car yesterday afternoon, I caught a […]
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Annual Flowers, annuals, Climbing plants, Container Gardening, Dark Plants, Dining Outdoors, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Dining Rooms, Garden Structures, Living Walls & Fences, Plants for Texture, Vines - Perennial, Water Bowl, Water Features
Al Fresco Dining in the Garden: Fireworks Restaurant’s Lush New Courtyard & Bold Container Design …
My Tiered Container Garden Design and Installation at Fireworks Restaurant in Brattleboro, Vermont Wrapped up a busy work week in the pouring rain yesterday with finishing touches on my garden design and installation for Fireworks Restaurant in Brattleboro, Vermont. This lush, outdoor dining space will soon feature a stone water bowl created by a local […]
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Of Raindrops & Rose Petals …
Rosa ‘Bibi Maizoon’ with Raindrops In and out of the studio today, I’ve been more than momentarily seduced —and completely delayed— by the scent of English roses along the Secret Garden path. The spicy, rich fragrance of Rosa ‘Bibi Maizoon’ —reminiscent of much older cultivars— fills the damp, heavy air on this rainy afternoon. I […]
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Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Dining Rooms, Garden Rooms
Studio Days: A Peek at the Process … Designing Gardens & Landscapes
My Studio Desk —With Freshly Cut Sarah Bernhardt Peonies— Overlooking the Steel Balcony and Entry Garden (that’s Weigela florida ‘Red Prince’ viewed from atop the wall/balcony) Currently working on three large landscape designs and several smaller garden projects, I’m taking full advantage of today’s inclement weather to play catch up on work —drawings and planting […]
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Cocktails, Cooking, Garden Party, Summer Solstice, The Seasons
A Warm Welcome to Sultry Summer …
A Warm Welcome to Summertime with Pyrotechnic Flower Bouquets Summer begins today at 1:16 pm EDT, and I’m welcoming her with open arms. After a long, cold winter followed by a wet, drizzly spring, I’m more than ready for hot and hazy, hammock days and sultry summer evenings. There are so many things to love […]
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Thoughts on Wild Beauty …
Prince Pickerel on the Secret Garden Water Bowl I’ve worked in many kinds of gardens: clipped, controlled and formal; sprawling, loose and informal. And it’s fair to say that I delight in landscape design of all kinds. Still, I find that my favorite gardens tend to walk the line between wild and tame. Too much […]
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Pretty in Pink: The Red Horse Chestnut, Aesculus x carnea ‘Fort McNair’ …
Aesculus x carnea ‘Fort McNair’ Dodging raindrops between appointments yesterday as I ran up the entryway walk, I couldn’t help but stop when I noticed the loud hum of bumble bees, hard at work in the pretty, pink blossoms of my horse chestnut tree (Aesculus x carnea ‘Fort McNair’). Rainy, cool weather has prolonged the […]
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Ferncliff, Ferns, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Garden Room, Secret Gardens
Pausing as Spring Dances with Summer: A Moment at the Verdant Threshold …
The Secret Garden Door in Late Spring Sunny days and sultry evenings alternate with cool mornings and moody rain showers as Springtime dances toward Summer. The month swept in with dramatic beauty: wild thunderstorms followed by golden sunsets; mist-covered hills illuminated by pink afterglow. This is a busy time of year, but every morning and […]
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Cutting Garden, Flower arrangements, Foliage, Fragrance, Home, Raindrops, shrubs, The Seasons, Vases, Weigela, Woody Plants
Gathering Bouquets Between Raindrops & Simple Tips for Fresh Cut Flower Care
Peony blossoms are of course my favorite cut flower, and by growing many cultivars, it’s possible to extend the flowering season for a month or more After two days of steady rain, I slipped outside this morning to wander around the garden between raindrops and gather fallen flowers for fresh bouquets. Poetic as drooping blossoms […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Berries, Butterflies and Moths, Cocktails, Cooking, Cooking with Kids, Fruit for home gardens, Plants for sun, Pots, Recipes, strawberries, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Strawberries & Homemade Granola: Fresh Fraises des Bois for Breakfast …
Fresh Picked Alpine Strawberries or Fraises des Bois (Fragaria vesca) & Homemade Granola One of the best things about June —besides peonies— is fresh picked strawberries from the garden. I have a small but productive patch of fraises des bois (Fragaria vesca) —better known as alpine strawberries— in my potager (click here for more information […]
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Asian Natives, Cutting Garden, Exotic Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Peonies, Perennial Close-Ups, Shade Gardening, shrubs, Shrubs for early spring blossoms, Trees, Unusual Plants, Woody Plants
Black Dragon Holds a Splendid Flower …
Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Wu Long Peng Sheng’: Black Dragon Holds a Splendid Flower Wu Long Peng Sheng. Translated from Chinese, the name means, ‘Black Dragon Holds a Splendid Flower’. I haven’t seen the black dragon, but I keep looking. Maybe he’s hiding in the fern covered ledges; waiting to pounce if I pick this beautiful, magenta […]
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Cutting Garden, Peonies, Perennial Close-Ups
Peony Petals & The Heady Scent of June
Sweet Dreams are Made of Silken Peony Petals When the early morning air is moist and still and the garden is filled with pale light, I step outside to drink in the fragrance of springtime. Of course, there are many flowers at this time of year; iris, laurel, roses and baptisia. But there is one […]
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Asian Natives, Hydrangea, Living Walls & Fences, Night Garden, Perennial Close-Ups, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for shade, Shade Gardening, Silver foliage, Vines, Vines - Perennial, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Moonlight & Shadow on the Rocks … Mysterious Japanese Hydrangea Vine
Moonlight & Shadow on the Rocks. Schizophragma hydrangeoides ‘Moonlight’ in The Secret Garden Moonlight Hydrangea Vine. Her name evokes silver-lined clouds in a velvet sky, and midnight strolls through the Secret Garden. I picture a heroine with long tousled tresses, holding a candle by the forest gate. It’s a fairytale of course, and in the […]
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Bulbs, Cutting Garden, Heirloom Bulbs, Old Fashioned Flowers, Plant Spotlight, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Summer Flowering Bulbs, Vases
Silvery Heirloom Treasures for the Vase: Nodding Stars-of-Bethlehem …
A late spring bulb for cutting: Nodding Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum nutans) sitting pretty in a vase by New Mexico artist Heidi Loewen They are commonly called the Nodding Star-of-Bethlehem, and I think it may be the perfect name for this beautiful, silvery flower. Five autumns ago, with my late-spring cutting garden in mind, I ordered and […]
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Color in the Garden, Dining Outdoors, Ferncliff, Home, Recipes, Summertime Cocktails, The Seasons
Honey Colored Evenings in the Garden And Iced Tea with Lime & Peppermint…
An Evening on the Terrace in Sultry, Honey Colored Mist Voluptuous French Lilacs Drape to the Ground Vanilla Sky: Garnet-Hued Japanese Maple Leaves, Luminous at Sunset June evening. It’s late in the day, and the glow of mist-diffused sunlight –warm and sweet as honey– filters through the perfumed garden. It’s time to relax after a […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Hummingbird Moth, Pollinating Insects
A Garden of Beautiful, Magical Surprises: Meet the Hummingbird Moth …
A Hummingbird Moth (Hemaris thysbe) samples Ozark Bluestar nectar (Amsonia illustris) Out early in the garden this morning, I stopped to photograph the Ozark Bluestar (Amsonia illustris), blooming along the path. I wanted to share springtime images of this beautiful, native perennial, which I often feature in my garden designs. In autumn, Amsonia turns chartreuse, followed […]
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Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Native Plants, Nature, New England
Beyond the Rain Speckled Windows: Springtime Showers in the Garden …
Blossoming Beyond the Rain Speckled Glass: Viburnum lentago, Just Outside the French Doors Wild thunderstorms passed through New England this week, bringing with them lightning, high winds, hail and even tornadoes just south of here. Fortunately –although the storm front brought loud claps of thunder, drenching rains and dramatic skies– there was little damage in […]
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Peonies, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for Spring, Plants for Light Effects, Raindrops, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens, Woody Plants
Glistening Gold, Perfumed Peony Petals
‘High Noon’ Tree Peony (Paeonia moutan x lutea ‘High Noon’) A cool morning after rain in the Secret Garden, and the fragrance of the first dew-kissed, peony blossoms fills the air. The scent of this favorite, golden flower —exotic and deep— is an eagerly anticipated May-time pleasure. Life gets so busy, and the seasons pass […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Bulbs, Butterflies and Moths, Meadow Gardens, Native North American Meadows, Native Plants, Nature
Late Afternoon Sunlight in the Meadow And a Prelude to Long, Languid Summer
Camassia quamash and Clethra alnifolia – Two of My Favorite Native Plants in the Meadow Garden One of my current landscape design projects is for a new home in the middle of a high meadow. I couldn’t be more excited. Meadow gardens are some of my favorite landscapes to design. Many things influence me when […]
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