Recent Posts
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Conifers, Ferncliff, stonework, Winter Garden, Woody Plants
Happy New Year !
Wishing You  A Joyous New Year ! Michaela *** Photograph © 2009, Michaela at The Gardener’s Eden ***
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Bowls, cactus, Flower arrangements, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Gardening Inspiration, Gifts for Gardeners, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Texture, Pots
It’s Fiesta Time & A Cactus Bowl Centerpiece adds Life to a Party …
Cactus bowl centerpiece with desert rocks and decorative straw flowers… It’s fiesta time in my kitchen. I am planning a holiday party with a menu of Mexican-inspired dishes. To set the mood for margarita sipping and chip dipping, I decided to create a celebratory cactus-bowl centerpiece. Making a dry, table-top garden filled with desert plants […]
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Candles, Christmas Trees, Holiday Decorating, Indoor Table Arrangements, Lighting, Winter Garden, Winter Solstice, Woodland plants
Peace on Earth…
Wishing you all things Merry and Bright ! Happy Holidays ! *** *Bright red cranberries and candles make a lovely, quick and natural centerpiece for the holiday table. To make one like mine, (I snapped the top photo last night while wrapping presents): Â fill a shallow glass bowl, (midway to the top), with water. Add […]
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Garden Variety / Barnes & Noble, Great Blogs, Other Blogs
Announcing New Weekly Posts on Garden Variety at Barnes & Noble…
( Clearly, the gardener reads ! ) Beep, beep, beep, beep… We now interrupt the usual, (somewhat quirky), blog posts to announce my new relationship with Garden Variety, the Barnes & Noble blog for bookish green-thumbs. Many thanks to Kristin for inviting me to write for Barnes and Noble on a weekly basis. Needless to […]
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Cocktails, Recipes, The Seasons, Winter Solstice
A Beautiful and Symbolic Cocktail to Celebrate the Winter Solstice and Enjoy Throughout the Holiday Season…
The Persephone – or Lava Lamp by Maria Hunt… . My, oh my – where has the year gone? Here we are on the eve of the Winter Solstice, with 2010 right around the corner. I don’t know about you, but for me this year has been a complete whirl-wind. Looking back at the months […]
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Artful Garden Objects, Bowls, Conservatory, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Gardening Inspiration, Gifts for Gardeners, Green House Gardens, Holiday Decorating, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Planting Techniques, Plants for Texture, Pots and Pottery, Terrariums, Tropical Plants, Urns and Vessels, Vases
Bringing Nature’s Beauty Indoors: Terrariums Part Two…
A tiny Phalaenopsis orchid , (‘The White Moth’) , displayed in an open terrarium lined with pea stone/charcoal mix, and filled with a bed of bark, sphagnum and sheet moss… Last week in ‘Terrariums Part One‘, I went over basic instructions demonstrating how terrariums are constructed, and introducing terrarium-newcomers to the beautiful, fascinating world of miniature […]
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Conifers, Ferncliff, Garden Design Photos, Gardening Inspiration, Perennials for Winter Interest, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for Texture, shrubs, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Shrubs with Colorful Twigs/Stems, The Seasons, Winter Garden, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
The Dawn of Winter: December Notes from Ferncliff…
Winter’s Dawn at Ferncliff The morning after a storm. Silent. Pristine. After months of drowsy, frost-covered mornings, at long last the garden has fallen to sleep. Lulled by a by a shifting blanket of snow, the flowers have all drifted away now; their pods empty; stalks broken. Summer’s song is hushed; notes frozen in chilly stillness. […]
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Art Inspired by Nature, Bee Keeping/Products/Info, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Bug Defense for Gardeners, Candles, Gifts for Gardeners
Art Inspired by Nature: A Moment with Talented Author, Artisan and Beekeeper Marina Marchese of Red Bee Apiary…
The lovely and welcoming Red Bee Apiary in Weston, Connecticut Marina Marchese: beekeeping farmer, author and founder of Red Bee Apiary Photograph by Jeff Becker The subject of this weeks ‘Art Inspired by Nature’ on The Gardener’s Eden, is a lovely and talented woman living the life of many a discontented, city-dweller’s dreams. Not only […]
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Birds, Books, Frogs and Toads, Native North American Woodlands, Nature, Recordings
The Calming Echoes of Nature – Soothing Sounds During a Sometimes Hectic Holiday Season…
Echoes of Nature: Morning Songbirds I am about to head out to do a bit of holiday shopping this evening, which unfortunately means that I will be confronted with relentlessly loud music and overbearing crowds. And you know, as much as I enjoy this season of giving, I sometimes find all the bright lights and […]
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Cookbooks, Cooking, Pears, Recipes
A Golden Cake for the Holidays – Fragrant with Spice and Bartlett Pears…
Spiced Yogurt Cake with Bartlett Pears Bartlett Pears on a Turquoise Plate I love getting up early on a winter morning and baking in a sunlit kitchen. To me, the scent of fresh baked goods, coffee and fragrant, warm spices makes a house feel comforting and homey. So this morning, when my cat nudged me […]
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Garden Design, Garden projects for kids, Gardening Inspiration, Holiday Decorating, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Terrariums
Bringing Nature’s Beauty Indoors: Terrariums Part One…
A seasonal terrarium filled with North American forest plants… I am very fortunate to live and work surrounded by gardens. Even in winter, nature is part of my everyday life. But not everyone is so lucky. Some of us have friends and family members working in city high rises, crowded into sterile offices or lifeless […]
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Art Inspired by Nature: H.D. Thoreau “A Winter Walk” …
 Early Winter, 2006 © M.S. Harlow “We sleep, and at length awake to the still reality of a winter morning. The snow lies warm as cotton or down upon the window-sill; the broadened sash and frosted panes admit a dim and private light, which enhances the snug cheer within. The stillness of the morning is impressive. […]
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Garden Gloves, garden tools, Gifts for Gardeners, Mud Boots and Shoes, pruning, Rain Gear
Great Holiday Gifts for Gardeners – Ideas Under $10, $20, $50, $100
We gardeners have a reputation as ‘hard-to-shop for’ people, especially when it comes to holiday gifts. This may be true, as we often are a bit particular about our likes and dislikes. Sometimes when a non-gardener is shopping for us, the choices can seem overwhelming. By-pass pruner or anvil? Garden gnome or gargoyle? Glass cloche […]
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Books, Children and Gardening, Gardening Inspiration, Gifts for Gardeners, Indoor Gardening, Plant Propagation, Seed Kits, Seeds
Sowing the Seeds of a Gardening Future: Great Holiday Gift Books to Nurture the Little Green Thumbs in Your Life…
Late this fall, I was helping my client and friend Leah design and install a perennial garden at her home, (if you read this blog regularly you will recall that Leah loaned me a copy of The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World, by Michael Pollan, turning me on to the author’s […]
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Apples, Cookbooks, Cooking, Plant Spotlight, Recipes, The Seasons, Vegetable Gardening
Baby it’s Cold Outside! Warm Up a Bit – Sweet Butternut Squash Soup, with a Kiss of Apple Confit and Creme Fraiche…
Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Confit and and a dollop of Crème Fraîche… So what am I doing outside these days? Oh all sorts of last minute, before-the-snow-flies chores and holiday decorating. Up until today, it has been unseasonably warm in New England, and I have been delighting in the temperatures while gathering greenery and […]
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Art Inspired by Nature, Urns and Vessels, Vases
Art Inspired by Nature: The Luminous Glasswork of Artist Randi Solin
Autumn Bowl, Shard Series, 6.5 x 10 x 10 inches I am always excited when visiting studios as part of the ongoing series, ‘Art Inspired by Nature’, for The Gardener’s Eden. I love seeing other artists’ work environments and, even better, watching as they work. It’s a rare treat for an outsider to actually see […]
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Conifers, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Gardening Inspiration, Naturalistic Garden Design, Perennials for Winter Interest, Plants for Texture, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Winter Garden, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Walking in a Winter Wonderland …
Sleigh bells ring… are you listening ? “When it snows, ain’t it thrilling, though your nose gets a chilling? We’ll frolic and play the Eskimo way, walking in a winter wonderland”… Welcome December ! Hellebores gleam and glimmer like stars in white glitter… A branch of Cotoneaster, loaded with red berries, reminiscent of a ruby […]
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Books, Garden Design, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, The Seasons, Vegetable Gardening
Cozying up by the Fire: Kitchen – Gardening Guide Books to Give or Get…
My favorite place to read: beside a glowing fire… The photograph above was taken last night from a favorite old chair, where I will be spending my leisure hours reading during the months of January and February. And although a few calendar weeks remain until winter officially begins in the northern hemisphere, I have already started […]
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Apples, Books, Cookbooks, Cooking, Orchards / Orchard Keeping, Recipes, Vegetable Gardening
Holiday Brunch from the Kitchen Garden and Local Orchard…
Heirloom Lady Apple and Yukon Gold Potato Fry… Anticipation is in the air. Twinkling lights. Aromatic, evergreen boughs. Crackling fires. Stories. There are so many simple things to love about the coming holiday season and winter months. For me, late morning breakfasts always top the December weekend-pleasures list. After a busy year, doesn’t it feel […]
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Christmas Trees, Conifers, Holiday Decorating, Plant Spotlight, Tree Farms, Trees, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Holiday Traditions: Visiting a Tree Farm Guest Post by Nanette Pigaga…
The Forest Illuminated, Photograph © 2009 Michaela at The Gardener’s Eden I have never been much of a Black Friday enthusiast. Frankly, I would rather snuggle up by a cozy fire with a good book, or a notebook and pen, listening to Erik Satie and sipping hot, mulled cider. But if you are going out today, […]
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Candles, Indoor Table Arrangements, Late Autumn Garden, Lighting, Plants for Texture, Uncategorized
Bringing Nature’s Beauty Indoors: Creating a Festive Mood at the Holiday Dinner Table with Candles and Natural Treasures…
Bittersweet and floating votive candles… As we begin celebrating the holidays this season, our attentions turn toward the table, where we gather to celebrate and give thanks. Now that I have finished shopping for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving feast, I am beginning to play with some seasonal arrangements to greet my guests and illuminate the dining area. […]
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