Tag: Custom Garden Design
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Transformation: A Parking Lot becomes a Paradise
Let me tell you the story of a plot of land in Carlisle, MA. Mostly a parking lot, there was some open grass, miscellaneous woodland, a fence to prevent you from driving in, and trash barrel. It wasn’t a place you were likely to hang out. Nothing to draw you in-it was basically a…
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A Leaf Lover’s Fall Foliage Combinations
I’m loving our New England Autumn. The leaves have been turning one by one– here and there– for weeks. Now it’s clumps of yellow, orange, and scarlet, and green gearing up to an amazing crescendo sometime soon. Here’s a few photos taken from my back garden. The garden’s fall foliage design shows off. Enjoy. And…
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September Time of Year
It’s mid September in New England–almost the Fall Equinox– the gardens are very dry and we’ve had several nights in the 40’s. We missed the frosts of the southern coast. Ornamental grasses, shrub roses, hydrangeas, summer annuals, and sedum are the stars of the late summer landscape. Highlights in my garden include the ‘Sweet Autumn’…
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Fall in New England
Songwriter Cheryl Wheeler sings “when fall comes to New England, the sun slants in so fine”. Indeed, and misty mornings greet the superb range of coloring in this part- shade garden. Rusts, yellows, greens, and blues all add to the texture of the different plant forms and masses. I always find it amazing that dying…
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Reading this morning’s paper
Reading this morning’s paper, I wonder at what I’m reading. Politics, violent unrest, people saving a farm stand, unique art exhibits that lead one inside oneself. I wonder what to make of what I read. How do i process this? How do I to use this information to make myself more—astute, kind, smarter, creative? Then,…
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Rewards of Composting in a Small Space
Out the kitchen door, to the right off the landing, I’ve positioned the compost bin for easy access. I’m rewarded with views of my back garden and this one of my front. It’s a view of the front I only see from this angle so it’s a treat. Today I was rewarded by pink dianthus…
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Border Transformations
Many of us in New England have this ‘before’ view. A shrub and a ill defined edge. Not much to make us want to look out at it from our windows. The homeowner wanted a Rhododendron border. There were a several in her front landscape creating a hodge-podge look and crowded into beds doing nothing…
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Spring Flowers Pull Me Outside
Mid-day yesterday I finally got outside to see what I had been admiring all morning from my office window. Not the best time of day to photograph, but today it’s about what I can share. And I can share my delight in the red tulips that capture my attention with their vivid cheerfulness. Coupled with…
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Spring Delights at the Flower Show and in my Garden
Wandering the Boston Flower and Garden Show last Saturday, random people asked me repeated about one particular plant. Maybe it’s because I was wearing my Speaker’s Badge and looked official. Which plant you ask? the Hellebore. Seems to be the year of the Hellebore for me. At least at the show and in my front…
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Creating Place, a unique ‘Home’ Place, and Solving Drainage Problems
Arriving at this home before this landscape renovation (see ‘before’ photo below), you may well wonder why this landscape needed renovation. After all, the lawn looks great and the plantings are okay. That’s it. Just looked ok. But the great lawn can’t make it a special place to live. Walking the path on a dry…