a garden maker's notes

Inside: Orchids in blush, white, and deep mauve, white Paper-white narcissus, red amaryllis, cream hellebore, ribbons, bows, bright reflective baubles, fragrant white and pink lilies adorn different rooms. And outside: pictured below a container filled with needled conifer with Daphne, rhododendron & winter-berries I see everytime I enter the sun room. All these things color my [...]

Late November in North America, New England, this Sunday before Thanksgiving forms today’s perspective of this time of transition.  My days and scheduling go from the active creative process of landscape design installations and studio work to only studio work and “office chores”. That’s the category of business chores that are put off when I’m [...]

Songwriter Cheryl Wheeler sings “when fall comes to New England, the sun slants in so fine”.  Indeed, and misty mornings greet the superb range of coloring in this part- shade garden.  Rusts, yellows, greens, and blues all add to the texture of the different plant forms and masses. I always find it amazing that dying [...]

Reading this morning’s paper, I wonder at what I’m reading. Politics, violent unrest, people saving a farm stand, unique art exhibits that lead one inside oneself. I wonder what to make of what I read. How do i process this? How do I to use this information to make myself more—astute, kind, smarter, creative? Then, [...]

Geese squawk over head as I watch the black cat’s head turn up to follow the sounds.  The tropical storm has passed taking with it the high humidity and leaving a drenched garden.  I love the tapestry of foliage shown in the photo above of the shade garden. It needed a good drink. No tornadoes [...]

Out the kitchen door, to the right off the landing, I’ve positioned the compost bin for easy access. I’m rewarded with views of my back garden and this one of my front.  It’s a view of the front I only see from this angle so it’s a treat. Today I was rewarded by pink dianthus [...]

Many of us in New England have this ‘before’ view.  A shrub and a ill defined edge. Not much to make us want to look out at it from our windows. The homeowner wanted a Rhododendron border.  There were a several in her front landscape creating a hodge-podge look and crowded into beds doing nothing [...]

Mid-day yesterday I finally got outside to see what I had been admiring all morning from my office window. Not the best time of day to photograph, but today it’s about what I can share.  And I can share my delight in the red tulips that capture my attention with their vivid cheerfulness.  Coupled with [...]

The Boston Flower Show open through March 18th stimulates all your senses. I’ve so many great photos of  beautiful garden rooms with lovely details and features. Difficult to choose one photo, but the enchantment in the exhibit designed as a children’s garden featured above won my vote this morning. As a landscape exhibit Judge representing the [...]

Arriving at this home before this landscape renovation (see ‘before’ photo below), you may well wonder why this landscape needed renovation. After all, the lawn looks great and the plantings are okay. That’s it.  Just looked ok.  But the great lawn can’t make it a special place to live. Walking the path on a dry [...]