Fresh from an exhaustive three weeks driving 1800 miles to tour British gardens and their associated tea rooms, I am full of ideas and inspiration for next year’s planting schemes. The British know how to do it. The hype is real. But what exactly is that ‘it’ comprised of? Cottagey color? Architectural hedging? Jam covered [...]
July 3, 2017 – Marianne Willburn received the 2017 Media Awards Silver Medal of Achievement for newspaper columns with a circulation of over 20,000 presented by GWA: The Association for Garden Communicators. This national award recognizes individuals and companies who achieve the highest levels of talent and professionalism in garden communications. The 2017 competition had [...]
Choosing a theme like “Holland: Flowering the World” gives the Philadelphia Flower Show a great opportunity to surprise and delight the public. After all, attendees already think they know what they’ll see when they walk through that bank of doors and onto the show floor of the Convention Center: Bulbs, and lots of [...]
Though I annually make fun of the design and fashion addicts that sit in rapt attention waiting for Pantone to release their “Color of the Year” (this year’s Greenery might signal a temporary cease-fire to that snark-war), I’m always curious as to the winner of the Perennial Plant Association’s Perennial Plant of the Year. Most [...]
Saving this schefflera by taking it inside during the winter could be a mutually beneficial proposition - according to a new study. A recent study conducted by Vadoud Niri, Ph.D. and his team of researchers at State University of New York at Oswego is pointing to the health benefits of having houseplants in [...]
Huge smile of relief as the book manuscript heads off to my editor at Skyhorse Publishing with a click of the mouse (and thanks to the free wifi-wonderland of a good friend who also provides snacks on Fridays.) No doubt there is much revising ahead, but that's what rose-colored glasses are for.
Cool news from the National Gardening Research Center - three out of four American households are picking up the trowel and plunging in. Over 90 million households did lawn and/or garden related projects last year and 6 million of them were doing it for the first time. During the economic recession, gardening as a pastime [...]
How many gardeners are currently being held against their will in beach houses up and down the Outer Banks while their families burn themselves crispy on sandy beaches? Gardeners get all that sun nonsense at home – in fact we can rarely get out of it. How much better then to interrupt the day’s regularly [...]
Truly one of the highlights of my summer season, Surreybrooke’s Music in the Garden Twilight Walk, is on the calendar even before May is here. This ticketed (always sold out), event combines gardens, friends, music and picnics-at-dusk to create a one-of-a-kind experience that attracts people to Middletown, MD from all over the DC Metro area. [...]
I realize that I'm giving you a lot to choose from on the weekend of May 21st, but luckily you don't need to choose. Garden tours in Frederick, MD and Shepherdstown, WV run on both Saturday AND Sunday! You've already heard a bit of news about Frederick's tour, but if you've never made the gorgeous [...]
It's garden tour time folks, and for those in Central Maryland or Northern Virginia, this one is right in our backyard. For over twenty years, the Frederick, Maryland Beyond the Garden Gates tour has attracted gardeners and non-gardeners alike to a terrific line-up of public and private gardens. I'll attend many private tours over the [...]
If you can't be in England now that April's here - don't despair. We've got some stunning gardens on this side of the pond and now, from April 23-30, The Garden Clubs of Virginia step up and highlight 250 of them during Historic Garden Week. Since 1927, this event has been the highlight of spring [...]
Image courtesy of The Leesburg Flower and Garden Show At this time of year, everyone is vying for the garden enthusiast’s attention, yet there is only so much time. It’s worth putting this one on your calendar. The Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival in Leesburg, VA hosts over 150 vendors from artisans to [...]
It’s possible that the Perennial Plant Association is reading my mind. This year, another of my favorites has been named as the PPA Perennial Plant of the Year: Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert.’ Graceful, hardy and a stunning addition to the fall garden, Honorine richly deserves her award. I first came across this pure white [...]
Maybe it's time to stop saying "I should do that this year..." and put the date firmly on the calendar. If you've heard about the Philadelphia Flower show but never been, find a companion, drive into beautiful Philadelphia and experience the magic that wows over a quarter-million visitors every year. The show couldn't be at a better time for [...]
Thrilled to announce that I have recently signed a contract with Skyhorse Publishing for a book to be released in Spring 2017. It’s about creating a garden wherever life finds you, even when it’s not where you thought you’d be by now. If you’re a regular reader of The Small Town Gardener, you’ll know how [...]
In my part of the world, Winter arrives as a gentle jolly spirit and departs like a raving banshee. However, before I start navigating three-inch ice with an ancient Land Cruiser, I plan to enjoy the next month of merry merry merry. In order to do that, I need to be organized. In order [...]
Great Dixter in summer. Photo from greatdixter.co.uk This is one of those opportunities that, happy as I am in my little world, makes me want to fake my own death, buy a new identity on the black market and present myself as a perfect (unencumbered) candidate for a year's worth of interning with [...]
This month a guest post from Tesselaar Plants that I found exceedingly helpful in guiding the gardener to take a hard look at things that may or may not be working in his or her garden - and then taking steps to solve them. Tesselaar grows some gorgeous plants, but many of them are not [...]
Kathy Jentz from Washington Gardener Magazine and yours truly at the Urban Homestead in Pasadena, where the Dervaes family has been farming their 1/5 of an acre for 30 years - harvesting over 6000 pounds of veg annually! Love my job! Hanging with plant people at the 67th Annual Garden Writers Symposium in [...]
