Flower Child

I confess during the bleak winter months I go a bit stir crazy having nothing to create. So a few years back I started playing with flowers. I put together arrangements for clients and neighbors and found out that I loved the process. The same design principles I incorporate with my containers – scale, balance, harmony, and contrast- work with floral design. Also, like container gardening, floral design can accommodate many different styles. Some arrangements are more linear and modern while others are more flowy and organic. Whether containers or floral design I love the fact that each arrangement I create is unique to my client and his/her aesthetic.
 
If you are experiencing the winter blahs I would encourage you to head to a local grocery store and pick up a few bundles of flowers. Go home, turn on the music and start creating.  I know you will love playing with flowers as much as I do. And if you are ever in need of an arrangement, please reach out to me. I like to think that my florals, like my container designs, are one-of-a-kind.



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Winter Wow

This is the time of year we reflect on the winter designs to plan for next year. These are a few of our favorites.




The Good. The Bad. And the Ugly.

I love garden tours as much as the next person and have gone on several. Unfortunately I often return home to my own garden discouraged and overwhelmed. Sometimes the inclination is to want to rip everything out. This feeling is what prompted me to design a different kind of garden tour. One that won’t require months of prep or the hiring of a landscape crew. I am very excited to announce “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. It’s a real-life garden visit that, I hope, will leave others inspired rather than intimidated. Hopeful rather than hopeless. Excited instead of exasperated.

I recently hosted the Wellesley Home and Garden Club on a beautiful October day. They were able to view the different gardens and while I showed them some of my favorite spaces, I also made sure to point out the mistakes I had made, as well as the areas that I felt still needed work. We ended our time in the shed with some small bites, with a drizzle of honey from my beehives. The shed is also a prime setting for small group workshops and several workshop options were displayed on the potting bench. As one member described the tour:

We saw a lot of good, not too much bad and yes, some ugly. It was so refreshing to be taken “behind the scenes” and hear from Deborah what worked, as well as what didn’t. What she liked about the garden and what needed work. She had some very interesting plants, and it was so informative to hear how she approached the design of each space. The best thing about the visit was hearing about how the gardens evolved and all the planning that went into it. We also really liked the well thought out “she shed” with multiple views of the plantings and serene settings.

My garden is always changing – seasonally, as well as year to year. It is my happy place and I would love to share it with you.

If you and your group would like to come and tour please be in touch for more details. Rest assured I will not clean up all the ugly!

See you in the garden,

Deborah








New home. New garden.

This client was one of my very first when I started The Captured Garden over 20 years ago. She and her husband recently downsized and while they loved their new home, they weren’t crazy about the builder grade gardens. They were especially challenged (after coming from a large property) by the lack of privacy in the backyard.

I decided to add plants to the hill beyond the fence. Incorporating evergreens like thuja ‘Degroots Spire’ at key points gives year-round privacy and low-maintenance ‘Limelight’ hydrangeas provide weeks of summer blooms. A columnar purple beech will be the exclamation point in the garden. I also planted inside of the fence to soften the hard lines. Fothergilla is beautiful in the fall and feathery amsonia, with its yellow fall foliage, will be the icing on the cake. Large junipers and hollies were installed between the homes for additional privacy.

The garden is filling in and now when you enjoy a cup of coffee or glass of wine you might forget you have neighbors!




Garden overhaul.

Sometimes you need to start with a blank slate. While I am usually a fan of saving, or re-using, plant material this garden, once lovely, had become overgrown and tired. We removed everything and amended the soil with compost. The idea was for two garden areas – a public view and a private view. The public view, from the driveway, was a bit formal with a line of ‘Midwinter Fire’ dogwood backed by a line of inkberry hollies. A beautiful Stewartia tree stood in the background. Once at the top of the steps visitors would enter the private garden. This garden, visible from the home, incorporated colors that were complementary to the interior decor.

We uncovered quite a few incredible rocks which we added to the garden as design elements; I was especially excited about the stones we had stacked and turned into a fountain.