Finding a space where life and garden intersect.
What’s New in My Garden at Oldmeadow
Three Insider Tricks to Make a Sophisticated Natural Wreath This Season
December is upon us, the spirit is in the air, and you have an itch to try the whole wreath-making thing again. Except...you've never really nailed the art of wreath making. 'Spindly' and 'amateurish' are [...]
The Garden in November
November is a different type of transition month in temperate Mid-Atlantic gardens. Though it often starts gently, with the slight bite and color of October, by the end of the month we remember what we [...]
How to Make Poncirus Marmalade from Hardy Oranges
If you grow the hardy orange (once Poncirus trifoliata, now Citrus trifoliata), and you cook, you’ve probably wondered whether or not you can use those pretty little orange fruits to make marmalade. The answer is [...]
Cool News!
__________
Tropical Plants and How to Love Them has won a coveted Gold Media Award from Garden Communicators International (formally Garden Writers Association) for 2022! The book also won two Silver Media Awards in the categories of Writing Style and Publishing Design. Many thanks to the judges and all of the readers who keep sharing this book with temperate gardeners who want to play with tropical plants but don’t know where to start!
What an honor!
Oldmeadow
My husband, two children and I had been hunting for a rural way of life for years, and the first few weeks at Oldmeadow felt like a vacation. Reality kicked in a few months later when the furniture was moved, boxes were finally unpacked and we started to realize what Jeanne had told us with a grin at the closing table: “Nature wants it back.”
Gardening in the
Mid-Atlantic?
THIS MONTH’S GARDEN
The Garden in November
November is a different type of transition month in temperate Mid-Atlantic gardens. Though it often starts gently, with the slight bite and color of October, by the end of the month we remember what we had forgotten during the growing season - quiet, naked woodlands; spicy, earthy scents, cold - not cool - mornings, and the landscape gently covered with white frost. It may begin with easy, Instagrammable scenes, but [...]
More Conversations in the Garden …
New Trick for an Old Gardener: Planning and Designing EXACTLY what I want.
Last weekend I started the process of becoming professionally serious about a small area west of my [...]
Using Grow Lights for Healthier Seedlings Doesn’t Need to Break the Bank
Inevitably, the time will arrive when many gardeners will consider starting their own seeds indoors. Perhaps it [...]
Tired of All The Winter Weather Hype
Have you had it with the constant, unrelenting weather reports that sound more like John Grisham novels [...]
Happy New Year! And An Update or Two…
Two weeks in, welcome to 2022!! A very Happy New Year to you all. Of all the [...]
On Podcasts, Conversation, and My Column with The American Gardener
From Margaret Roach to Niki Jabbour, I’ve been asked to do many podcasts and radio shows over [...]
Tough Plants for Tough Places
Three warrior species are battling for dominance on the hillside outside my kitchen window. It is a [...]
Book Marianne
for Your Next Event
Whether it’s in-person or through the magic of virtual platforms, Marianne has spoken to hundreds of domestic and international audiences.
Her informative, motivational presentations on a wide range of topics both educate and energize gardeners — leaving them with fresh ideas and a fresh perspective to apply to their home gardens.
“Marianne Willburn’s talk was inspirational with practical advice on how to achieve the look you want by honing in on the qualities of what you love about a certain look, and then figuring out how to achieve that vibe while remaining within your budget or smaller space.”
Ruth G. – WNC Gardening Symposium
Flat Rock, NC
BUY BOOKS!
“We need more authors who meet gardeners squarely where they garden. Marianne’s honesty and conversational style don’t undermine her expertise – they enhance it.”
-Melissa A., St. Louis
“This playfully and passionately written book is filled with fresh ideas, not only for enhancing your garden and home with tropical plants, but for helping you adapt your own mindset so you can experience much more enjoyment from this exciting corner of the botanical world.”
―Viveka Neveln, Garden Editor
Better Homes and Gardens
Mungo : Diary of a Garden Dog
Some of Us Can Handle Middle Age
So I was reading over Her shoulder the other night by covertly inserting my small, flexible body onto the back of the couch (Bite it, Nessa), and instead of finding 101 Ways to Be a Better Dog Owner, or What Your Jack Russell Wants, or [...]
I’m Still Her Favorite
I bet you’ve been wondering. Nessa being a girl, and Her being a girl and the Girl being a girl and what with the way that kind all sticks together – Hell, I was wondering too. Top. Dog. But glad to say, I’m [...]
Nessa the Usurper
She got home this week. And if it hadn’t been for this 826-pound, six foot, hairy Muppet sucking up all the attention, I might have enjoyed three beautiful She-free weeks with Him. On the bed. In the bed. On Her pillow now that I think [...]
Tough Plants for Tough Places
Three warrior species are battling for dominance on the hillside outside my kitchen window. It is a cliched phrase in the garden writer’s book of spells, but it is nonetheless [...]
Building Habitat Nests for Wildlife…and For Me
Over the last two winters, I’ve been engaged in a curious pursuit which has baffled some visitors but thrilled others – precisely the way I love to garden. I’m building [...]
Where’s Your Book? and Other Difficult Questions
“What’s up with your book?” I’ve fielded this question from many readers lately. If you pre-ordered Tropical Plants and How To Love Them because you either read this post, or [...]
The Bees are Dead, The Goldfish Are Not, and It’s Okay.
It’s the first day of spring and the bees are dead. After a long yesterday assessing the winter garden hangover – the deer-nibbled evergreens, the chicken-uprooted polygonatum, the muddy mess [...]