Garden Design
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Asian Natives, Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Chores, Ferncliff, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Maintenance, Garden Rooms, Planting Techniques, Reflections, Rodent Damage Prevention, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, The Seasons, Tree Care, Trees, Trees for Fall Foliage, Unusual Plants, Winter, Winter - Preparations, Winter Garden
Preparing the Garden for Winter: Protect Young, Ornamental & Fruit Trees from Gnawing Rodents…
My young Royal Frost birch (Betula populifolia x Whitespire ‘Royal Frost’) tree’s golden-orange foliage in November Several years ago, when my father had heart surgery at the VA hospital in Boston, I was away from home quite a bit during the last three months of the year. Preoccupied with my dad’s health and juggling various […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Chartreuse, Climbing plants, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Conifers, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Rooms, Hardy shrubs, Japanese Maple, Late Autumn Garden, New England, ornamental grass, Perennials for Autumn, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Trees for Fall Foliage, Unusual Plants, Water Bowl, Water Features, Woody Plants
The Grand, Fall Foliage Finale: November Photo-Notes from Ferncliff…
Acer palmatum x dissectum ‘Seiryu’ and Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’at the Secret Garden Entry in Early November It seems to me that the first week of November flew by in a complete blur. This morning I awoke to howling wind and the unmistakable sound of sleet blasting the windowpanes. In one short week, the vast majority […]
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Asian Natives, Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Butterflies and Moths, companion planting, Fragrance, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Maintenance, Gardening without Lawn, Ground Covers, Hoar Frost, Late Autumn Garden, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Woody Plants
Fire and Ice: The Flaming Red Foliage of Abelia Mosanensis Sizzles Beside Cool Blue Juniper Horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’…
Fragrant abelia (Abelia mosanensis) and Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’ (aka ‘The Blue Rug’) They say opposites attract —think Bogie and Bacall, Hepburn and Tracy, Lady and the Tramp, Bert and Ernie— in passionate relationships. Â And it’s certainly true that sparks tend to fly in nature, as well as on the silver screen, when something hot and […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Color in the Garden, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Naturalistic Garden Design, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for Texture, Shrubs for fall color, The Seasons, Trees for Fall Foliage
Autumn Light…
Edge of daylight… Autumn light, like golden honey dripping from branches, sweetens the chill of mid-October days. A stroll through the garden reveals a sunlit patch of earth —still empty. My eye follows the low rays, looking for opportunities to play with light and texture; a potential spot for a luminous shrub, feathery grass or […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Ferncliff, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Hydrangea, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials : Vermont, Perennials for Autumn, Pergolas and Arbors, Planting Techniques, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for Texture, Purple and Maroon Foliage, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, The Seasons, Woody Plants
Opposites Attract: Autumn Golds Glow Beside Vibrant Violets, Pale Plums & Lovely Lavenders…
An October knock-out: Clematis viticella ‘Polish Spirit’ (my new favorite) sings harmony at the edge of the golden-chartreuse fields of autumn Oh beautiful, technicolor October, my favorite month of the year. On glorious fall days like today, I live to be outdoors from dawn to dusk, playing in the garden’s golden light. With all of the […]
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Artful Garden Objects, Candles, Ferncliff, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Party, Gifts for Gardeners, Lighting, Luminarias (Tin), Night Garden
Shadows Lengthen & Darkness Falls: Illuminate Autumn’s Velvety Nights…
Simple Tin Buckets filled with Sand and Tea Lights Line the Stone Steps at Ferncliff Twilight in the garden: dusky violet skies and long shadows brush the horizon. Night falls, and the silhouettes of flowers and feathery foliage sway dramatically in the fading light. This is my favorite time to walk through the garden, watching […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Berries, Bird Friendly Gardens, Birds, Garden Design, Late Autumn Garden, Ornamental Berries and Fruit, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Shrubs with Colorful Twigs/Stems, The Seasons, Winter Garden, Woody Plants
Oh, Tutti Frutti: It’s Candy Land Time! Magical & Colorful Ornamental Berries…
Circus-like baubles on candy-coral stems, literally cover this (Viburnum lentago) nannyberry viburnum in my garden Red twig dogwood berries (Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’) bring to mind mini marshmallow bits and and rainbow jimmies Just like orange-flavored Tic-Tacs – The sight of these Chinese-orange berries on my tea viburnum (V. setigerum ) always gives me a little […]
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Books, Bulbs, Ferncliff, Ferns, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Paths
Buried Treasures: From Ruby Tulips & Golden Narcissus, to Sapphire Bluebells, Some of Springtime’s Loveliest Jewels are Planted in the Cool, Autumn Earth…
A tisket, a tasket, a basket full of Narcissus. These bulbs were planted last autumn in my garden… Anticipation. True gardeners really know how to revel in the wait. We are, essentially, pleasure-delayers. Gardening differs from many modern-day activities in one significant way: it is not an instant gratification activity. Not at all. Gardeners do […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Black Plants, Butterflies and Moths, Chartreuse, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Dark Plants, Exotic Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Ferncliff, Ferns, Foliage, Fragrance, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Rooms, Gardening Inspiration, Glamorous Gardens, Gothic Garden, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Native Plants, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for Autumn, Plant Spotlight, Plants for shade, Plants for Texture, Purple and Maroon Foliage, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening, The Seasons, Woodland plants
Fashionably Late & Dressed in Maroon: Sweetly-Scented, Autumn Fairy Candles Light Up the Shadowy, Secret Garden…
Actaea simplex/Cimicifuga simplex ‘Hillside Black Beauty {also known variously as Fairy Candles, Black Snake Root & Black Cohosh} Actaea simlex ‘Hillside Black Beauty’, here in the Secret Garden with Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’, Lamium maculatum, Helleborus x hybridus ‘Royal Heritage Strain’, Paeonia mouton x lutea ‘High Noon’, Stewartia pseudocamilla, and a background of bronzing Matteuccia […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Berries, Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Chartreuse, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Cutting Garden, Ferncliff, Flower Seeds, Fresh Cut Flowers, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Honeybee Friendly Gardening, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Native Plants, ornamental grass, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for Autumn, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture, Seeds, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, The Seasons, Woody Plants
Flickering Like Flames: Scarlet Red, Brilliant Orange & Burnished Gold … Early Signs of Change in the Garden…
The bold vermillion of late summer: Rosa rugosa’s bright and beautiful hips Cobalt-Violet Annual Asters Fill Beds Planned for Cutting in the Potager… This morning, I watched as a flock of sparrows splashed joyfully in a tiny pool on the stone terrace. Showers passed through the area yesterday afternoon and evening; refreshing the garden and […]
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Color in the Garden, Dark Plants, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, ornamental grass, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for Autumn, Perennials for summer
Glorious, Late Summer Garden Design: Combinations Featuring Light-Catching Texture and Bold, Contrasting Color…
Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’ and ‘Matrona’, stunning in combination here at Ferncliff with bluish hues, such as the Juniperus chinensis, sargentii glauca (shown above) and later, with the tawny tufts of Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’ (also pictured above, prior to inflorescence) It’s early September, and the garden has only just begun to glow with a warm, bronzy […]
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Asian Natives, Exotic Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Ferncliff, Foliage, Garden Design, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for summer, Plant Spotlight, Plants for shade, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Summer Flowering Perennials, Woodland plants
Star of Secret Gardens & Shady Dells, Kirengeshoma Palmata: Late Summer’s Graceful, Golden-Yellow Waxbells…
Kirengeshoma palmata (Yellow waxbells) in the Walled Gardens at Ferncliff As the last wisps of fog melted in morning’s brilliant sunlight, I slipped outside through the Secret Garden, eager to gather my tools and begin the day. But there, rising from the damp shadowy walls, stood graceful Kirengeshoma palmata in a sunny spotlight; swollen-yellow buds sparkling […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Berries, Black Plants, Color in the Garden, Dark Plants, Ferncliff, Flower arrangements, flowering shrubs, Foliage, Fresh Cut Flowers, Garden Design, Gothic Garden, Hardy shrubs, Native Plants, Plant Spotlight, Purple and Maroon Foliage, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Summer flowering shrubs, Woody Plants
Midnight Maroon: Dark, Mysterious Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diablo’…
When you’re strange, no one remembers your name – Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diablo’ Oxblood, maroon, deep violet and ebony; dark plants are one of my greatest horticultural passions. From the statuesque Cimicifuga racemosa ‘Hillside Black Beauty’ gracing my Secret Garden, to the massive, dark cloud of Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diablo’ forming a shadowy hedge at the back […]
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Berries, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Container Gardening, Exotic Plants, Ferncliff, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Rooms, Paths and Walkways, Perennial Close-Ups, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for shade, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening, Unusual Plants
A Splash of Color in Dappled Shade: Persicaria virginiana ‘Painter’s Palette’…. { PS: Please Don’t Confuse Me with My Wicked Cousin }
Persicaria virginiana ‘Painter’s Palette’, Variegated Virginia knotweed (aka Polygonum virginianum/Tovara virginiana) in the Secret Garden at Ferncliff â“’ Michaela at TGE Who says a plant needs flowers to be interesting? Be they speckled, lace-edged or luminous as stained-glass, leaves are often incredibly fascinating. In fact, some of my favorite species in the great Kingdom of […]
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Books, Decorating the Garden, Dining Outdoors, Furniture, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Dining Rooms, Garden Rooms, Gardening Inspiration, Glamorous Gardens, Home, Inspirational Gardens, Lighting, Outside Architecture, Pergolas and Arbors
Inspiration Provence: Romantic Gardens, Casual, Country-Style Furnishings & Candlelit Dinners Beneath the Stars…
Michel Klein’s Garden – Image â“’ Provence Interiors by Lisa Lovatt-Smith Provence… What an incredibly evocative word. Even the sound of the letters, rolling sensuously across the tongue, seems to magically slow time. The Mediterranean landscape seduces with golden light; teasing as it flickers through massive plane trees. My memories of southern France are bound […]
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Artful Garden Objects, Ferncliff, Garden Art, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Organic Disease Control, Organic Insect Control, Reflections, Sculpture and Features, stonework, Tea Gardens, Water Bowl, Water Gardens
Inspiration: The Japanese Tea Garden… Water Bowls Reflect Quiet & Calm
Image â“’ Linda Younker from Gardening with Stone by Jan Whitner Calm, cool and serene; even the tiniest pool of water can create a quiet, contemplative mood in the garden. In summer’s sweltering, mid-day heat, a few stolen moments in a shady oasis can refresh and rejuvenate the spirit. Whether constructed from hypertufa, carved from […]
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Annual Flowers, Artful Garden Objects, Books, Color in the Garden, Container Gardening, Decorating the Garden, Front Yard Gardens, Furniture, Garden Art, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Dining Rooms, Gardening Inspiration, Gifts for Gardeners, Gothic Garden, Luminarias (Tin), Planting Techniques, Pots, Pots and Pottery, Sculpture, Sculpture and Features, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Succulents in Containers, Urns and Vessels, Water Features
Adorn: Flea Market Finds, Discarded Pots and Vessels, Inexpensive Lamps and Found Objects Enhance the Garden…
An Eclectic Collection: Pots, Urns, Vessels and Lamps – Image â“’ Michaela at TGE Most gardeners are obsessed with beautiful flowers, and as you’ve probably noticed, I am no exception. But in truth, there’s more to a great garden than plants. Adding a few artful objects to your garden can bring color, texture, structure and […]
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Color in the Garden, Front Yard Gardens, Garden Design, Garden Maintenance, Perennial Close-Ups, Plants for sun, Purple and Maroon Foliage, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Shrubs with Colorful Twigs/Stems, soil science, The Seasons
Long-Distance Garden Design: Creating Structure & Year-Round Color for an Elegant Residence on Long Island…
A summertime border of mixed colors and textures: Deciduous and evergreen shrubs anchor a perennial garden planned for season-spanning interest… In winter: Red rose hips and glowing dogwood twigs will add brilliant color to the entry garden, punctuated by verdant conifers and broadleaf evergreen shrubs… Rosanna, my new friend and client, lives on Long Island […]
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Annual Flowers, Artful Garden Objects, Books, Cutting Garden, Dining Outdoors, Furniture, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Rooms, Gardening Inspiration, Herb Gardening, Kitchen, organic gardening, Planting Techniques, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
The Art of French Vegetable Gardening in Honor of La Fête Nationale…
A Country-Casual Potager from The Art of French Vegetable Gardening by Louisa Jones with photographs by Gilles Le Scanff & Joelle Caroline Mayer A Formal French Garden of Culinary Herbs, Fruits and Vegetables featured in The Art of French Vegetable Gardening (image â“’ Gilles Le Scanff & Joelle Caroline Mayer) In remembering La Fête Nationale […]
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Dining Outdoors, Ferncliff, Furniture, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Dining Rooms, Garden Rooms, Gardening Inspiration, Glamorous Gardens, Gourmet Garden, History in the Garden, Outside Architecture, Pergolas and Arbors, Terraces
Leisurely, Alfresco Lunches & Summer Garden Inspiration: Italian Style…
Dining Italian Style – Inspiration from Italian Country by Robert Fitzgerald Food, wine and alfresco dining beneath the shade trees… I can’t stop thinking about Italy’s Amalfi Coast today, and I am going to go ahead and blame it all on my new Italian friend, Rosanna. I am working on an interesting, long-distance landscaping project with […]
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Books, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Paths, Gardening Inspiration, Glamorous Gardens, Holiday Decorating, Lighting, Luminarias (Tin), Paths and Walkways
Luminous Lanterns & Torches Set Gardens All Aglow…
Photo â“’ Ray Main from Elizabeth Wilhide’s Lighting: A Design Source Book Flickering candles, swaying lanterns, and glowing orbs beneath shadowy, draped vines; an artfully lit garden sets the mood for a memorable gathering or even an everyday evening meal on the deck or terrace. Too often an after-thought —or worse neglected all together in […]
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