Recent Posts
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Bulbs, Cooking, Garlic, Great Blogs, Plant Spotlight, Recipes, Vegetable Gardening
A Thousand Mothers Set into the Earth: It’s Garlic Planting Season…
‘German Red ‘ garlic bulb from Wild Shepherd Farm, Athens, Vermont The ancient Greeks and Romans often called garlic the ‘stinking rose’, and in eastern Europe it is sometimes referred to as the ‘Russian penicillin’. Allium sativium has been praised for it’s worth by many as ‘better than a thousand mothers‘; blamed for bad breath, gas […]
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'Valley Blogs" WHMP Radio Show, Art Inspired by Nature, Bill Dwight Photography, Pod Casts
Art Inspired by Nature – Bill Dwight Introducing the Poet with an iPhone… and ‘The Gardener’s Eden’ radio debut!
Photograph © 2009 Bill Dwight Whew, it’s been busy around here lately! ‘Art Inspired by Nature‘ was a bit delayed this week by a rush to get things planted, mulched and finished up in my various garden projects before today’s snow began to fly. Plus, I have some exciting things going on, and some news to […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Berries, Bird Friendly Gardens, Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Color in the Garden, Dried Flowers, Exotic Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Ferncliff, flowering shrubs, Foliage, Fresh Cut Flowers, Garden Design, Hardy shrubs, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Hydrangea, Late Autumn Garden, Old Fashioned Flowers, Plant hunting, Plant Spotlight, Raindrops, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, The Seasons, Unusual Plants, Woody Plants
Autumn Brilliance Part Two – Plants for Spectacular Fall Color…
Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Issai’ (Purple Beautyberry) Could a gardener be diagnosed with OCD if she compulsively checks her ornamental shrubs for changing berry color? Can a collector’s passion for a particularly beautiful cultivar cross the line, where she becomes a stalker of plants? Sometimes I fear I’ve gone too far; slipped off the raft; teetered past […]
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Butterflies and Moths, Caterpillars, Insects/Entomology
Feeling Warm and Fuzzy on a Chilly October Day …
Acronicta americana – American Dagger Moth Caterpillar Ctenucha virginica – Tiger Moth Caterpillar Estigmene acrea – Salt Marsh Moth Caterpillar Brrrr. I think it’s officially time to pull out the woollies! There is a damp chill in the air on this gray October morning – it’s a good day to pull out a trusty old […]
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Art Inspired by Nature, Bee Keeping/Products/Info, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Cara Enteles, Paintings
Art Inspired by Nature: Butterflies, Birds, Bees & Moths – Exploring the Exquisite Work of Cara Enteles…
Peril in the Branches, (detail), oil on aluminum, 48″ x 72″, © 2009 Cara Enteles Stop. Behold the fleeting, delicate beauty of a butterfly lighting on flower petals, or the whir and buzz of hummingbirds and bees as they dart about, competing for late season pollen. What an amazing and diverse world we live in. […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Birds, Ferncliff, flowering shrubs, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Perennials for Autumn, Plant hunting, Plants for shade, Plants for sun, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Viburnum, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Autumn Brilliance: Plants for Spectacular Fall Color, Part One …
Viburnum trilobum ‘Bailey Compact’ with Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ What an impossibly beautiful morning. The sky is a scraped palette of blue-grey-violet, and the world all around me is a swirling kaleidoscope of orange and chartreuse, scarlet and vermillion, saffron and violet. I began my day with an early walk through the garden – savoring […]
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Art Inspired by Nature, Artful Garden Objects, Fresh Cut Flowers, Garden Art, Pots and Pottery, Richard Foye, Urns and Vessels, Vases
Art Inspired by Nature – Raku Masterworks by Artist Richard Foye
~ Large raku vessel with bronze metallic glaze ~ ~ A raku urn with lid during glaze firing ~ ~ Artist Richard Foye at his South Newfane, Vermont studio ~ I caught up with my friend, artist Richard Foye, on a beautiful September afternoon while he was busy at work in his South Newfane, Vermont […]
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Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, North American Trees, Plant Spotlight, shrubs, Woody Plants
Behold the Beauty in a Technicolor Dreamcoat: Rhus Typhina, our North American Native, Staghorn Sumac…
Rhus typhina ‘Tiger eyes’ â“’ Michaela at TGE Wow. Will you take a long look at Lady Rhus typhina? Isn’t she beautiful ? And she is such a keeper. What gardener wouldn’t welcome this stunning, autumn beauty with her technicolor dreamcoat? But there is a catch. I am afraid this lady has a bad reputation. It’s […]
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Ferncliff, Gardening Inspiration, Great Growers and Nurseries, Perennial Close-Ups, Plant Spotlight, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs
I Believe in the Promise of Tomorrow…
A basket of mixed narcissus bulbs, ready for planting The first member of my family’s next generation was born a few short weeks ago. His name is Morgan; my sister’s first child and my first nephew. When I met Morgan on the morning he was born, August 13th, my heart felt like a swollen dam, […]
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Art Inspired by Nature, Photographers, Ronald Cowie
Art Inspired by Nature – Ronald Cowie Portrait of a Flower…
Photograph © Ronald Cowie . “Nobody sees a flower, really, it is so small. We haven’t time -and to see takes time like to have a friend takes time”  – Georgia O’Keeffe For this, The Gardener’s Eden’s second in the weekly series, “Art Inspired by Nature”, I present to you the extraordinary work of Ronald Cowie. […]
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Ferncliff, Ferns, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, North American Trees, Woodland plants
Welcome Autumn…
The first golden leaves. American Beech, (Fagus grandifolia). Thought I would take you along for a stroll through the woodland path on the first day of autumn here at Ferncliff. Early morning fog lifted briefly to reveal a slice of heavenly blue sky and a season’s worth of kaleidoscopic color just beginning to develop in […]
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Cocktails, Great Blogs, Recipes, Roses, Summertime Cocktails
A Vintage Rose Cocktail to Celebrate The Last Day of Summer…
Vintage Rose Cocktail from The Bubbly Girl – Photo â“’ Michaela at TGE We may be kissing Summer a sweet goodbye on Tuesday, but you didn’t think I would let her slip away for the year without a little celebration, now did you? Â Of course not. She is far too loved to be easily forgotten. […]
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Asian Natives, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for Autumn, Plants for shade, Shade Gardening, Woodland plants
Tricyrtis formosana ‘Dark Beauty’ ….. The Late Blooming Perennial Toad Lily
Tricyrtis formosana ‘Dark Beauty’ in the Secret Garden at Ferncliff The first time I encountered Tricyrtis formosana she had been stripped of all foliage and was displayed dramatically with coppery toned twigs in a Japanese vase. It was lust at first sight. I was standing at the front desk in an elegant hotel lobby, and although I […]
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Art Inspired by Nature, Frogs and Toads, Tim Geiss
Art Inspired by Nature – Tim Geiss “Looking at You, Looking at Me”
Frog, 2009, Tim Geiss Welcome to the first installation of what I hope will become a weekly series, “Art Inspired by Nature”, on The Gardener’s Eden. As a gardener and nature-lover, I constantly find myself face to face with the beautiful, strange, and awe inspiring world around me. Sometimes I am moved by the beating […]
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flowering shrubs, Plant hunting, Planting Techniques, Viburnum, Weigela, Woody Plants
Calling all Bargain Hunters: It’s Time To Scoop Up Great Deals On Shrubs And Start Your Fall Planting!
Weigela florida ‘My Monet’ & Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ Pst… Want to know a secret? I really must confess. I have been having a bit of fun lately with other people’s money. No, no. It’s nothing like those scoundrels on Wall Street that you have been reading about. Permission has been granted. You see, for […]
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Ferncliff, flowering shrubs, Plant Spotlight, Roses
Romantic Love and Beautiful Surprises…
Rosa ‘Bibi Maizoon’ (AUSdimindo, David Austin English Rose), and Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ â“’ Michaela at TGE To be a gardener is to suffer the occasional disappointment… the inevitable loss. The Cornus florida crushed by ice. The Acer palmatum girdled by rodents. On the other hand, nature will give as much as she takes. And often, […]
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annuals, Cold Frame Construction, Garden Design, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, organic gardening, Planting Techniques, soil science, Vegetable Gardening
Gardening Beyond the Harvest Moon: Extending the Growing Season with Hoop-House Cold Frames…
September’s Harvest Moon It may seem a little premature to be writing about cold frames and frost on a beautiful late summer day, (sunny with daytime temps in the 70’s here in Vermont). But the gorgeous Harvest Moon this past weekend served as a reminder that we are nearing the end of the growing season […]
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Ferncliff, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, ornamental grass, Perennials for Autumn, Perennials for summer, Perennials for Winter Interest, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for shade, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture
Autumn and Everything After……. Designing Beautiful Late Season Gardens with Ornamental Grass…
“Autumn is a Second Spring, When Every Leaf is a Flower” – Camus A Grouping of Miscanthus sinensis, ‘Morning Light’, ‘Variegatus’, and Miscanthus ‘Purpurascens’ in Mid-October at Ferncliff Pennisetum alopecuroides, (fountain grass), with sedum and juniper in the entry garden at Ferncliff  in early September, just before the inflorescence appear. Much as I would like […]
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Cooking, organic gardening, Plant Spotlight, Recipes, Vegetable Gardening
Tears of Joy: In praise of the Onion…. and my favorite French Onion Soup!
Spanish Sweet and Stockton Red onions at Harvest If the end of summer is bittersweet, then I will credit the humble onion for some of the sugar. On a chilly autumn day, I am a complete pushover for a bowl of French Onion soup topped with a thick layer of gooey, delicious Gruyere cheese, (see […]
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Cocktails, Cooking, Herb Gardening, Plant Spotlight, Recipes, Summertime Cocktails, Vegetable Gardening
Liquid Pleasures of the Late Summer Garden: Part Two, How I Came to Know the Cuban Mint Julep…
Mel’s Cuban Mint Julep/ AKA The Mojito I simply can not believe this is the last weekend of August. Where has the summer gone? Here in New England the weather pattern has shifted right on cue and the nights are already getting cooler. Geese are gathering on the water. Labor Day weekend and the Harvest […]
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Garden Gloves, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, Native Plants, Weeds and Weeding
The Zen of Weeding…
I often recycle my old wicker laundry baskets for weeding chores. Not only are they inexpensive, lightweight and easy to move in and out of tight spots, but once they begin to fall apart, I can just break them up and add them to the compost pile! As I sat down to write this article, I […]
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