Gardening Help

The working end of the garden room lets the owners putter all winter.

There’s a stampede they call spring in Connecticut. It starts tentatively with a courageous carpet of bulbs, then gathers gumption to explode with flowering shrubs and a leafy canopy overhead. It’s a celebration, an ovation—and it’s just the sort of first hurrah that Priscilla Hillman loves. The garden is why she and her husband, Norman, packed up and moved when the 1830 house around the corner went up for sale.

The Hillmans had been eyeing this house for a while. They liked the smart flowing dimensions of its 1870 update and its Colonial Revival addition.

Read more…

I had to take the day off yesterday.  I came home from vacation to a horrific garden mess and I spent the entirety of yesterday in the garden fixing things up.  At least, when I drive up my driveway I need to gain of sense of peace rather than agitation.   I also spent much of that time pondering ideas for making all of it more simple so I can be more settled.   Here is what I came up with for my garden but I am hoping you can share some of your simplifying tips too.

1) I HATE hosta flowers.  And, I have a garden full of hostas….mind you I have never purchased a hosta, they are all the sad cast offs of clients, so I have shoved them every where I can think of.  Many of the places are just right, but the row of them in front of the front wall is just wrong.  They are getting too much sun, and the hideous hosta flowers greet me daily.   They are going.  I think I am going to replace them with a short lavender hedge to match the one on the other side of the driveway.

Read more…

Nuria Mora has a new installation on a rooftop by the East River in New York City.  It’s not jsut a painting, but a garden, in the most artisitc sense.  And I kinda adore it’s simplicity.   More about Nuria’s process  here.

And if this kind of thing intrigues you — check out this video.

Are you ready for a new season? April marks the beginning of what we Northeasterners call, Mud Season. The ground is not quite primed for gardening yet, and we’re up to our knees in mud. It is the perfect time to take the snow gloves off and start exercising that green thumb.

7 Tips For Prepping The Garden

1. Survey the Yard The winter takes its toll. Check fences, steps, and pathways for disrepair caused by freezing and thawing.

2. Tune up tools Sharpen and repair tools.

3. Get The Mower Ready Like the snow blower, the mower and leaf blower sit idle for months and then invariably won’t start. If needed, send them for the requisite servicing.

4.

Read more…

I often say, “Your property is a canvas and plants are the paints you use to create the ultimate landscape art piece.” Too often we forget about planting according to a palette, but for both gardens and containers, colour is key to attracting the eye, establishing a mood and creating the “wow” we all want.

Colour offers your garden cohesion. It allows you to delineate particular sections, give the garden either a wild multicolour or manicured monochromatic look, highlight some favourite features or create a focal point. In the world of colour theory, you’ll hear big words like monochromatic, analogous, complementary and polychromatic thrown around.

Read more…