The Secret Ingredient.
I was at a Speaker’s Bureau recently and was meeting with various garden clubs. I had created a container to have on the table that would showcase my work. A woman stopped and admired it, “Dear, that is just beautiful. But it doesn’t go outside?” I assured her that all my containers were meant to go outside. “But, that’s a houseplant” she gasped, pointing at the sansevaria. I thought for a bit and said, “It’s time for summer camp!”
Which leads me to an often overlooked component in great container gardens. Houseplants.
Sharing My Passion For Gardening.
Any of you who know me know that I LOVE sharing my passion for gardening with others. Whether I am talking about container gardening or designing for pollinators or creating a rooftop garden it is always a thrill to share what I have learned.
I have also been blessed to speak at some great Flower Shows over the years and this year I will be returning to one of my favorites – The Philadelphia International Flower Show.
The theme for 2017 is “Holland: Flowering the World.”
I am very excited to walk through the entrance which will feature an overhead floral canopy created with over 6,000 blooms! Talk about a grand entrance!
-artist’s rendering-
The Philadelphia Flower Show is the world’s oldest and largest indoor event of its kind and attracts over 250,000 people from around the world. I will be speaking on container gardening on March 16. I have also been asked to be a part of the container garden challenge on the same day.
According to the Flower Show the container challenge is a friendly competition where three designers will be on stage at the same time, creating a container planting using a myriad of plants. Upon completion, the audience will be able to “vote” for their favorite. Sounds a bit like “Chopped” to me!
If you are in the neighborhood please stop by and say hi! It would be wonderful to see some familiar faces. For more on the show visit The Philadelphia Flower Show website.
This spring my hands may be holding a microphone as often as a trowel as the lecture schedule is filling up!
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.
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.
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