Inside Out Design.
There is one very important thing you should do before starting any garden design project.
Stare out the windows. I mean it.
Really stare, or at least look very closely.
Too many designers start outside the home with no thought given to how the garden will look from inside. For many of us in colder climates a good deal of time is spent enjoying the gardens from inside so designing from the inside out just makes sense.
Read More»The Garden. A Love Story.
It’s Valentine’s Day and love stories abound.
The one between me and my garden is one of my favorites.
And like love, it has its seasons.
The spring garden is ripe with promise.
Yet, like new love, it is fragile. A time of emptiness surrenders as an opportunity for hope springs up, like the snowdrop bravely pushing itself through the snow. Or the crocus straining towards the sun. Still, the spring garden can be full of worry and concern.
Will that late cold snap kill ripening flower buds? Will the deer munch the tulips? Will the snow load prove too much for the small snowdrops? Anything too weighty, at this point in the development, could prove disastrous. So much promise, yet so much risk.
Read More»The Browning
This has been, according to the meteorologists here in Boston, a pretty warm winter.
Despite a few cold days and a bit of snow, it hasn’t been horrible. And while this may be good news for us, it’s not necessarily good for our winter containers. Driving around town I notice that many greens have “browned” with the warm temps and sun.
Many beautiful containers, once the pride of the neighborhood, have given up the ghost.
Read More»Under the Cloak of Winter Lies a Miracle
“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle … a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl.
And the anticipation nurtures our dream.”
~ Barbara Winkler
Beauty and the Bees – A different way of looking at garden design
One of my favorite lecture topics:
Beauty and the Bees – A different way of looking at garden design
Time was when we wanted to design gardens that were beautiful.
Planting trees, shrubs and perennials together to create a space that was aesthetically pleasing was the goal.
Now we know better.
Gardening just for our own pleasure is not only selfish, it’s dangerous.
Colony Collapse Disorder and the plight of pollinators have made us aware that we do not garden alone.
We need to be designing landscapes and gardens with a mindful eye to the environment around us.
Join garden designer and beekeeper Deborah Trickett, owner of The Captured Garden, as she shows you how with a few tweaks we can create spaces that are not only beautiful but beneficial to bees and other pollinators.
Contact Me Regarding Speaking for Your Organization
Bee Resources:
“Bee the Change – Plant for Pollinators” – Plant Something, MA
Protecting the Life That Sustains Us – Xerces Society
Massachusetts Beekeepers Association
Bee School – Worcester County Beekeepers Association
Bee School – Norfolk County Beekeepers
Ten Interesting Facts About Bees – Massachusetts Master Gardeners
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