garden design

New House. New Garden. New Choices

By |2019-09-12T17:09:25+00:00September 6th, 2019|

Friends have recently moved into their This-Is-The-One.  ‘Exciting’ doesn’t seem strong enough to capture the emotions that such a move elicits.  There is excitement, certainly, and joy; but also sadness in the changing of neighborhoods, of community, and in losing the familiar daily routines that quietly build the foundations we rely upon. Two weeks ago, [...]

Change Up Your Plants

By |2018-08-02T20:24:18+00:00August 2nd, 2018|

Tired of the same old, same old?  Euonymus and Knock-Out roses just not blowing your proverbial skirt up anymore?  I understand.  It’s not that we don’t love many of the old standards or even the new, old standards, it’s just that we want to expand our horizons…try new plants…see new textures… have fresh nervous breakdowns. [...]

The Patience to Wait

By |2018-04-11T00:20:22+00:00April 10th, 2018|

  Great gardeners and optimists know that a dead plant represents an opportunity to grow something new. But what of a dead tree? What of five? So much opportunity at one time can cloud a mind already weakened by the fumes of a chainsaw. It’s probably best then to stifle knee-jerk reactions – particularly the [...]

Should You Plan (and Plant) a Cutting Garden?

By |2018-02-20T20:40:45+00:00September 29th, 2017|

I have a friend who has always considered a weekly bouquet of fresh flowers a necessity.  She is French however, and they are presumably taught such things at their chic mothers’ beautifully sculpted knees. For years I have secretly admired her resolute stance on the subject, but as the daughter of an English father and [...]

The 2017 PHS Flower Show – “Holland” is So Much More Than Bulbs

By |2018-02-20T20:40:50+00:00March 11th, 2017|

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 [...]

Big Dreams, Small Garden

By |2020-09-07T22:46:33+00:00February 15th, 2017|

Over the last eight years, I have written many columns encouraging people to face the space in which they find themselves and to create the garden that lives within them. Particularly in the midst of the difficult economic period of the last decade. Disturbingly, one of the things that I often heard when I initially [...]

This isn’t your grandmother’s Show: Philly rocks it with “Explore America”

By |2018-02-20T20:41:08+00:00March 4th, 2016|

I cannot say I was optimistic this morning, heading north and wondering how on Earth the Philadelphia Horticultural Society was going to pull off a show dedicated to the immense grandeur of America's National Parks. They did more than pull it off.  Spring is on display in Philadelphia. And boy is it on display.  As [...]

PHILADELPHIA FLOWER SHOW – MARCH 5-13 – CELEBRATES THE BEAUTY OF AMERICA’S NATIONAL PARKS

By |2018-02-20T20:41:09+00:00January 4th, 2016|

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 [...]

When Everyone Is Watching: Garden Design for Non-Designers

By |2018-02-20T20:41:10+00:00November 19th, 2015|

A front-and-center garden puts artwork on display and invites accolades or criticism. I've got nothing but accolades for this Oregon homeowner. Designing a garden is a humbling experience, period. But when your design is instantly on display because you are planting an entrance or a driveway, it’s a worrying experience. And, [...]

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