Thankful. Grateful. Blessed.

It’s that time of year again when we take time to count our blessings and give thanks for all we have. I am personally trying to do it on a more regular basis!

As a gardener I am thankful for many things: polar fleece, daylight savings time and warm gloves top the list.

I am thankful that I have eyes to see all the beautiful plant material I am blessed to be able to use.

I am thankful that my ears work well enough to hear the birds around me as I garden.

I can also hear when my knees pop when I go up and down but at least they do their job and for that I am thankful.

Ditto for my hands and wrists which get a little sore after too much pruning. But I am thankful for my Felco pruning shears which make the job that much easier.

As I travel far and wide in pursuit of great plant material I am thankful for a car that works. Even if it does, as my kids constantly remind me, “smell like manure.”

I’m thankful for gas that is available and still relatively inexpensive. I should mention, however, that if it ever hits $5 a gallon you will see The Captured Garden on a moped.

I’m thankful for my new GPS which means I will never get lost again – ha, ha.

I am thankful that I live in a country where I have the freedom to start my own business. Seems like just yesterday The Captured Garden was only a seed of an idea and now it is a real honest-to-goodness business venture. Just ask the IRS!

Lastly, I am extremely fortunate and blessed to have the greatest clients/friends in the world. I am grateful for each one of you and thank you for the opportunity to work with you.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and are surrounded by all that gives you joy.

Grand Garden Show

Someone pinch me.

No really.

I must be dreaming because I am going to Mackinaw Island in August. Initially I was not familiar with the place and referred to it as Mackinack Island, sounds like Mackinawe Island. After doing a bit of research I learned it was an island in Michigan and that cars were not allowed. To get around you had to bike or take a horse-drawn carriage. Right away I was intrigued. So many times I wish I could go back in time to a gentler type of world – this sounded like the place.

Then I found out that Mackinac Island had some breathtaking gardens.

Sign me up.

We are blessed to own a family home on an island in Maine. It is an old sea captain’s house that belonged to a great great great member of the family and has been lovingly passed down to its current caretakers. It’s a place I go to escape. To turn back the clock. To breathe deeply. I have a very vivid memory of a time a few years back when we had all headed in from the front porch as it got dark to play games or watch TV. Suddenly my daughter groaned “I left my camera on the front porch”. The groan was due to the fact that is gets dark in Maine. Really dark. So dark you can’t see your hand in front of your face dark. There are no street lights and we have no outside lights at the front of the house.

We decided we would go and retrieve the camera together. What greeted us when we stepped onto the porch was amazing. Bursts of lights and flashes, as if from a hundred different cameras, made me feel like a superstar on the Red Carpet. I think we both gasped and immediately shouted to those inside to “get out here” or something like that. The field across the dirt road was filled with fireflies and we watched their show for what seemed like hours.

It’s Tick Season

Ahhh…summer! I look out at the green fields, the trees with their leaves rustling in the breeze and the path that leads through the woods and I have one thought: ticks. When I was younger my siblings and I spent all day playing outdoors yet I do not remember any of us getting bitten by a tick. I have been bitten at least three times in the last few years. I am not sure why the increase in tick activity but I resent the fact that they are limiting mine.

New Echinaceas

Who doesn’t love purple coneflowers? Echinacea, whose name comes from the Greek word for Hedgehog or sea urchin due to its spiny seed head, is a beautiful perennial that is loved by bees and other pollinators.As a beekeeper I always try to include them in any garden design. Many of us have the old favorites ‘Magnus’ or ‘White Swan’ but recently I have come across some that are a bit less well-known that I can’t wait to try.

Galvanized Metal…Part 2.

galvanized metal container gardens

I am beyond excited to be heading back to The Country Living Fair.

As a huge fan of things old and galvanized I feel like I have died and gone to heaven.

The Country Living Fair is a major dose of creative inspiration plus it’s a great place for me to pick up some of the “outside the box” containers I love to use in my designs. I am honored to be speaking, not at one location, but three over the next few months.

In April I will be presenting in Nashville, TN. Come see “Jaw-Dropping, Traffic-Stopping, Get-Your-Neighbors-Talking Containers” on April 20^th at 2:30 on the Main Stage.

I am also speaking in Rhinebeck, NY and Columbus, Ohio in June. More details to follow.

If you are interested in winning 3 day passes (including a Friday early bird) to any of the fairs email me Deborah@thecapturedgarden.com

View Speaking Topics

Heading to the Motor City

It’s no secret that I love speaking to groups about gardening.

Whether container gardening, urban gardening or designing for pollinators I am always excited and honored to be asked to share my passion with others.

garden lectures and workshops with Deborah Trickett, horticulturist

Over the years I have been blessed with many wonderful opportunities to speak at the Boston Flower and Garden Show, the Connecticut Flower Show, the Newport Flower Show and the Philadelphia International Flower Show. Last year I was invited to speak at the Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck NY and Columbus OH. The Ohio experience was made especially sweet, not only because of all the galvanized metal, but also because I could visit my daughter Eliza.

A Queen, a Bishop and a Big Dill

For me, excitement in the garden is caused by contrast…and the occasional snake that slithers by when I’m on my hands and knees weeding. Contrast is described as “to compare in order to show unlikeness, or difference” and can exist between colors, forms, textures, and shapes. Contrast creates tension and gives life to the garden. Without it things can seem flat, boring, lifeless. Imagine a garden of all daisy-shaped flowers. Or rounded shrubs. Or rounded shrubs with daisy-shaped flowers.

The Miracle Worker

I can be described by many roles…daughter, wife, mother, gardener, speaker, UMass alum, etc. But, despite what you may like to believe, I am not a miracle worker. It is a role I have never felt comfortable taking on.

As a garden designer I have clients that come to me to change their landscape. I love the process. We sit down, talk about needs, function, do a site survey and then I get to attack the project. From the beginning however I make sure my clients have realistic expectations. I am NOT a miracle worker.

Beef Up Your Beefsteak.

Did you know the same remedy for your headache can help you grow stronger tomatoes?

Aspirin has been shown to mimic a hormone in tomatoes that tricks the plant into thinking it has been attacked. This SAR (systemic acquired resistance) is a natural defense mechanism and when it is triggered it will result in a healthier, more fruitful plant.