On The Road Again

I speak at many different garden clubs during the year and one of the benefits is that I get to travel around New England.

Every trip reveals something that inspires me, whether vineyards in Rhode Island, mountains in Vermont, or beaches on Cape Cod. Just last week I had the privilege of speaking at the Jamestown Garden Club in beautiful Jamestown, Rhode Island. The house where I lectured was right on the water and I thought again how wonderfully that environment, with its sea breezes, lends itself to the gracefulness of ornamental grasses.

The apple trees’ bare branches had a startling, sculptural quality that just took my breath away

This March, I came around a corner in Hollis, NH and saw a beautiful line of apple trees in an orchard. Their bare branches had a startling, sculptural quality that just took my breath away. I was reminded that plants don’t have to have to be covered in leaves and flowers to make a statement. I am no golfer (unless the course with the windmill counts) but a recent speaking engagement at the Willowbend Golf Course on the Cape had me thinking that a well- tended expanse of green really is a beautiful way to set off a garden.

In the last year, my trusty Honda Pilot has ferried me from Mystic CT to Newburyport to Bourne to New Castle NH to Newport, RI and many, many places in between. I love traveling and with each trip, I’ve learned something. During my lectures, I invariably pick up a tip or two from the Garden Club members. But on the road, I have learned where to get a great cup of coffee, or even better an ice cream cone. I have discovered that my antiquated plug-in GPS is helpful to have when it’s dark and raining and my phone can’t locate Google. I have learned that if you are very tired and coming home at night there will be construction. I know the best drivers are the ones that don’t have phones in their hands.

I have seen beautiful landscapes and I have seen scary landscapes and I’ve come to believe that the big difference lies in bad pruning.

Container Garden Demonstration

I have discovered great little antique shops where I could pick up a one-of-a-kind container or two. And of course, whenever I speak to a garden club I ask if there is a good local nursery; if time allows I may even squeeze in a visit.

I often think, when driving to a lecture, that it’s not only the destination I love, it’s the journey. Being on the road again is never a bad thing.  Unless, of course, I am on Route 128 during rush hour. But that’s a whole other blog….