Recent Posts

  • Rain, Fog and A Bit of Summer Sun . . .

     Basking in the Late Day Gift of Summer Sunlight on the Terrace – So Far This Season, Sunny Days Have Been Few & Far Between… Hello, mid July. How did we get here so quickly? It’s been a busy start to summer, with little time for journaling, but I expect things to slow down a bit […]

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  • Oh Dear, Oh, Deer in the Garden: Dealing with a Big, Brown-Eyed Problem

     Peek-a-Boo: Playing Hide & Seek with a Young, White Tailed Buck in My Neighborhood Handsome fella, isn’t he? Of course he is. There’s no denying the beauty of this graceful, tawny, brown-eyed creature. He’s just gorgeous… Until he gets into your garden. Then, much like Dr. Jekyll, beautiful Bambi turns into Mr. Hyde. A single […]

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  • Happy Birthday, America . . .

     Celebrating Independence Day Photography & Text â“’ Michaela Medina Harlow/The Gardener’s Eden. All images, articles and content on this site (with noted exceptions), are the original, copyrighted property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be reposted, reproduced or used in any way without prior written consent. Contact information is in the left side bar. […]

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  • Sunshine on a Cloudy Day: Welcome July

     Rain on the First of July Rain-streaked windows and shiny black wellies; it’s a wet start to a new month in Vermont. Yesterday’s heavy showers and blustery wind knocked dozens of flowers to the ground, so I spent a bit of time early this morning, gathering fresh posies for informal arrangements. I’ve been working from the […]

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  • Beautiful Endings: Farewell to June . . .

    Beautiful Endings: Paeonia lactiflora ‘Duchesse de Nemours’ with Paeonia lactiflora ‘Kansas’ As June draws to a close —petals falling like rain from over-flowing vases— and a new month begins, it feels as if the entire world has burst into a never-ending wave of bloom. Sultry days alternate with drenching rains; summer’s recipe for voluptuous blossoms […]

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  • June Gardens, Aflutter & Aglow . . .

    Luminous Swallowtail on Blooming, Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris). Cluster-Flowers are Butterfly Favorites. Learn More About Attracting Butterflies & Other Pollinators to Your Garden Here. It feels like we were just toasting the Summer Solstice when suddenly,  it’s the last weekend of June. But that’s Summer for you, isn’t it? She just grabs you […]

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  • Summertime’s Sweet Carolina Lupine: Basking in Her Graceful, Golden Glow

     Lovely North American Native, Carolina Lupine (Thermopsis caroliniana, aka Thermompsis villosa) with Goat’s Beard (Aruncus dioicus) Oh sweet, sweet Carolina… I love how your golden blossoms illuminate the evening garden like the glow of candlelight. And on these early summer days, Carolina Lupine (Thermopsis carolina, also known as Thermopsis villosa), is quite literally covered with butterflies […]

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  • Moonlight in the Garden . . .

     June’s Strawberry Moon Rises Above the Ninebark, in Full Bloom A Strawberry Super Moon and a June garden in full bloom… Could there be a more lovely way to celebrate the first weekend of summer? The Strawberry Moon is full on Sunday, June 23rd, at 7:33 am ET, and the full moon is at perigee […]

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  • Celebrating the Summer Solstice . . .

    Welcome Wild Summer Beauty Welcome, beautiful, golden summer. We’re so glad that finally, you are here. In celebration, a few snapshots from last summer’s peak bloom in the garden (late June and early July 2012). I’m sure looking forward to those lazy, crazy, hazy days this year . . .  Golden Flowers and Golden Sunshine […]

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  • Hello, Handsome! Kolomikta Vine Shows off New, Pretty Boy Colors . . .

     First Pink & White Variegation on the Actinidia kolomikta Vine Hello handsome! Running out the door this morning, I nearly tripped down the stairs, surprised by this gorgeous Kolomikta leaf. Several years ago, I planted a male, Kolomikta Kiwi Vine (Actinidia kolomikta), on the corner of my telephone-pole black studio. This Asian native is slow to […]

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  • Peonies and Whirlwind Days of Planting

     Paeonia lactiflora ‘Kansas’ in a Pitcher by California Artist, Aletha Soule  A whirlwind month of spring planting —slowed and backed up by days of torrential rain— continues to keep my schedule quite full. There’s little time for writing, painting and tending my own garden these days, but the pace will surely slow as temperatures rise. […]

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  • Into the Garden, Dreaming . . .

     Papa, Father’s Day Weekend, 2013 Happy Father’s Day! Photography & Text â“’ Michaela Medina Harlow/The Gardener’s Eden. All images, articles and content on this site (with noted exceptions), are the original, copyrighted property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be reposted, reproduced or used in any way without prior written consent. Contact information is […]

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  • Raindrops in June . . .

     Rain on the Terrace  Although I confess a certain fondness springtime showers and fog, even for this lover of damp days, it’s been a particularly rainy June. Oh yes, the garden is lush —filled with deep green, chartreuse and the truest of blue hues— but bountiful, blushing buds and lime-colored strawberries are crying out for […]

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  • Sweetly Fragrant Lady of the Evening: Delighting in Angel’s Trumpet Datura

     She Flies by Night Upon Perfumed Clouds: Angel’s Trumpet Datura (Datura meteloides ‘Evening Fragrance’) At nature’s golden hour —as the sun begins her daily, departing dance along my hilltop— evening creatures and shadow-spirits begin to stir. I love strolling through the garden with a glass of wine at this time of day; watching as backlit flower […]

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  • Deep Blue and Clear as a Crater Lake: Austrian Speedwell’s Late Spring Allure

     Veronica austriaca subsp. teucrium ‘Crater Lake Blue’ Lapis lazuli blue; deep, bright, clear as a mountain lake. For many, the color blue evokes serenity… A feeling of quiet, calm contentment. From gems and pigments to leaves and flowers, true blue is a highly sought after hue. And yet, this primary color —irreplaceable in an artist’s palette— […]

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  • Enkianthus campanulatas ‘Red Bells’ Rings with Rosy, Late Spring Blossoms & Glorious Beauty Beyond Bloom . . .

     Enkianthus campanulatas ‘Red Bells’ with Baptisia australis, blooming in the background June is a fantastic month for flowers. Everywhere you look —from sunny meadows to shady nooks— something seems to be blooming. At this time of year, many gardeners spend their weekend hours strolling through nursery rows, choosing blooming plants based upon their flower color. […]

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  • Welcome, Sweet June . . .

     Drifting Through the Long, Luxurious Days of Late Spring . . . Sparkling with Sunlight . . . Onward, to the Golden Hours of Summer Welcome, sweet June; half spring, half summer and completely overflowing with loveliness . . . Morning Light Reflects Upon the Glassy Surface of the Secret Garden Water Bowl  The First of the […]

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  • Time for Maytime Magic & Wonder . . .

     Maytime Magic: Waking Up to Sunlit Silverbells in the Bedroom Window, Eagerly Anticipating an Unstructured Day With cold temperatures and rainy days squeezing an already tight work schedule, finding time to enjoy my own garden can be a challenge at this time of year. Busy creating outdoor spaces for others —with a growing backlog of projects […]

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  • The Alluring Scent of Lila & Muguet: Treasures Lost & Found in the Rain. . .

      Muguet, the Fragrance of May (Convallaria majalis) Oh, how I wish there were a way to bottle the sweet perfume of a rainy May evening. French lilac, lily-of-the-valley, Spanish and English bluebells, daphne, viburnum, violet and damp moss; the heady fragrance of springtime swirling about in dusk’s chilly air. Alas, with no way to […]

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  • Silverbells Upon a Moonlit, May Night: Planning an Enticing Evening Garden . . .

     Silverbells Swing in May Moonlight (explore Halesia tetraptera here) “I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.”   William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream After the Sun slips below the horizon, tossing her golden farewell to the tree […]

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  • Apple Blossom Love in the Afternoon . . . A Little Romance at Scott Farm Orchard

     A Late Afternoon Stroll Through the Sun-Drenched Orchard at Scott Farm; Fragrant with the Sweet, Delicate Scent of Apple Blossoms . . . Seduced by the  Impossibly Romantic Combination of Apple Trees in Full Bloom, Golden Light and Perfumed Air . . . Minutes Slip and Stretch to Stolen Hours; Luxurious into Evening . . .  As the Last […]

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