a garden maker's notes

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 [...]

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 [...]

Wandering the Boston Flower and Garden Show last Saturday, random people asked me repeated about one particular plant.  Maybe it’s because I was wearing my Speaker’s Badge and looked official.  Which plant you ask?  the Hellebore.  Seems to be the year of the Hellebore for me. At least at the show and in my front [...]

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 [...]

The garden’s a mess–the hard frost took out most of the perennial foliage. But look at what I see out my windows and as I travel the garden path. The first photo shows a close-up of the late fall foliage color. The planting composition you see below shows spirea  in yellow with brown flower remains, [...]

The Laceleaf Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum ‘Filicifolium’) looks great with or without snow in October.  The normally light green leaves become this rich “red” color in the fall. Often starting to “turn” at leaf’s edge in late August, this maple plays a starring role in this part of the garden. In early spring, its’ brilliant red [...]

Welcome to the side entry to this sanctuary garden retreat. Designed to provide privacy and special views from the new four season room, this garden also provides gathering spaces on the new lawn and in the courtyard area around the bend. You can see the field-stone stepping stone path at the edge of the photo. [...]