Category: Uncategorized
-
Stunning December Combinations
Rock, Tree, Grass, Conifer, Sky The sun, low in the sky late in the afternoon in early December, cast long light and shadows in the Adrian Bloom Garden at Massachusetts Horticultural Society at Elm Bank, Wellesley, MA. Seeking winter compositions I found many. Here are my favorites. See how form and color work in the…
-
Mid-November Tapestry
Mid-November and much in the perennial garden has been cut back or left lingering for the shapes created by the first snows. A casual stroll finds many lovely aspects in the garden in a season many consider without charm. Taken a few days ago, the photograph reveals a combination revealed through an intricate pattern of branches. A similar photo could have been taken…
-
Tree Museum
Joni Mitchell’s lyric rolled through my mind..something about paving paradise with parking lots and creating tree museums….and here I was strolling in Boston’s Arnold Arboretum late afternoon in mid October. Struck by the shape of the trees, I realized how I see trees–shaped by suburban lots and streets. Crammed into the sidelines, pruned for power lines, and …
-
When Fall Comes to New England
Inspiration comes too. Fortunately my life finds me immersed in New England’s autumn colors. Each morning the deepening color of the forest outside my window greets my first waking sight. Daily treks down multicolored leafy roads quiet my mind and call me to attention. This year I beheld the glory of “peak color” in Rangeley, Maine. (That’s right, Rangeley– it’s located…
-
Using the Colorwheel to Create Beautiful Plant Combinations
When most gardeners think about plant combinations, they rarely refer to a color wheel. And they should. It’s a tool that can be vastly helpful. Maybe you saw one in kindergarten and remember the primary colors of red, blue, yellow. Secondary colors–the ones between. Those terms are useful but not important for the designer. A…
-
Inspiring Late Summer Images from Tower Hill Botanical Garden
Let these images taken the third week of August inspire your late summer garden. Visit Tower Hill Botanical Garden in Boylston, MA. www.towerhillbg.org
-
Bloom Garden a Gem at Massachusetts Horticultural Society at Elm Bank
Seeking images for a lecture in development I journeyed to several Boston area public gardens. By far the best and most inspiring is the Adrian Bloom Garden at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. MHS can be found at Elm Bank in Wellesley, MA . See http://www. masshort.org . Great planting design and awesome combinations. Go see it and apply its…
-
Dragonfly Visits Favorite August Plant Combination
July’s carnival of Daylilies and Astilbes partying in my garden segues into a quieter reverie. August blooming Daylilies combine with Hosta, Phlox, Beebalm, Veronica, Joe Pye Weed, Astilbes, Hydrangea, Geranium, and more. My favorite combination just now is the tall lavendar scapes of Hosta ‘Krossa Regal’ dancing with the scapes of the yellow Hemerocallis ‘Autumn Minaret’ and the…
-
Shredded Umbrella Plant
Or Syneilesis aconitifolia. How is that pronounced? Try, Genus: Syneilesis (sin-eel-ES-is) Species: aconitifolia (a-kon-eye-tih-FOH-lee-uh). I confess to plant collecting. Like many gardeners I cannot resist some impulse buys. However as a designer I know to tuck these experiments within well-organized plantings so I can evaluate them. This plant turns out to have better foliage than flowers and…
-
Bugs for Birds
One morning I noticed a lone distant bird greeting the new day. My waking thought was–why so far away? Noting it was still dark, I had no idea why I was awake to hear the solo recital. But as I listened more avian voices joined the solistist as one by one the song advanced closer and closer to the trees…