Plant Spotlight
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Bulb companions, Paths and Walkways, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials : Vermont, Perennials for Spring, Perennials for Winter Interest, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for shade, Woodland plants
The Mysterious Moods of ‘Mrs. Moon’…
In the Beginning of the Garden Romance, ‘Mrs. Moon’ (Pulmonaria saccharata) Blushes, Shy and Tender in Spring Rain… Meet ‘Mrs. Moon’, the garden coquette. Hot, cold. Hot, cold. Just when you think you have her figured out, she up and changes her mood. Surely you’ve encountered such a fickle flower; blushing and eager one moment […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Birds, Books, companion planting, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, New England, Perennial Close-Ups, Plant Spotlight, Plants for shade, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening, Spring Ephemerals, Wildflowers and Meadows, Woodland plants
Ephemeral Woodland Wildflowers & Return of the Ethereal Hermit Thrush…
Red Trillium (Trillium erectum) There’s no place quite like New England for experiencing three seasons in one day. Sunday morning I rose to find a chilly house and snow covered gardens. Soon –with the sun shining brightly outside– temperatures soared to 63°. Breakfast in the snowy garden … Well, why not? I threw open the entryway […]
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Books, Bowls, cactus, Container Gardening, Decorating Ideas, Decorating the Garden, Exotic Plants, Ferncliff, Garden Art, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Indoor Gardening, Inspirational Gardens, Plant Propagation, Plant Spotlight, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture, Pots, rock garden plants, scree gardens, Studio Garden, Succulents, Tropical Plants, Unusual Plants, Urns and Vessels
Dusting Off, Cleaning Out, Taking Stock & Getting Ready for Gardening Season… Plus Another Giveaway!
The bright gold of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is a cheerful welcome in a chair beside my front door. I like using natural baskets as decorative covers for inexpensive, recycled plastic flower pots. I do a similar thing with plants placed outside in summer, using everything from wooden crates and baskets to tin cans and flea market […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Bulbs, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, flowering shrubs, Ground Covers, Insects/Entomology, Lawns, Naturalistic Garden Design, New England, Old Fashioned Flowers, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, The Seasons, Woody Plants
Hazy Color Drifts Carpet the Garden: Tiny Gifts of Early Spring…
Spring Heath (Erica carnea) Begins Blooming in Early April (click here to revisit my Erica carnea plant-profile post from last year). Here, Sprawling Across the Ledge  in the Entry Garden… The Pink, Hazy Blur of Spring Heath is Particularly Lovely Against Grey Sky and Cool Stone. On a Blustery Day, I Can’t Help but Think […]
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Bulbs, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Conservatory, Container Gardening, Fantasy Flowers, Glamorous Gardens, Green House Gardens, Indoor Gardening, Inspirational Gardens, Lyman Conservatory, Massachusetts, New England, Old Fashioned Flowers, Plant Spotlight, Smith College Botanical Garden, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, The Seasons, Vernal Equinox
A Warm Welcome to Spring: Blossoming Beauty at the Smith College Bulb Show…
Tulipa ‘Blue Spectacle’ Narcissus, tulips, hyacinth, freesia, iris and clivia; from the brash and bold to the delicate and ethereal, all of spring’s finest ladies were on display this week at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. The Bulb Show at Smith College’s Lyman Conservatory —where thousands of bulbs are carefully arranged and artfully displayed with flowering […]
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Cutting Garden, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, Flower arrangements, flowering shrubs, Flowering Shrubs and Trees for Forced Flowers, Forcing Branches in Winter, Fragrance, Fresh Cut Flowers, Gardening Inspiration, Indoor Table Arrangements, New England, Plant Spotlight, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, shrubs, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Shrubs/Trees for Forced Flowers, The Seasons, Vernal Equinox, Winter, Woody Plants
First Hints of Spring…
Last Year’s Nest Remains Intact, Decorated with the Pink-Tinted Buds of Viburnum Bodnantense ‘Dawn’ Spring is exactly one month away, and eagerly, the garden awaits her arrival. Already, swollen buds, glowing bark and the sing-song voices of chickadees calling “spring’s here”, fill trees and shrubs with new life… On Warmer Days, Blushing Viburnum Buds Near […]
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Decorating Ideas, Early Spring Garden Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Ferncliff, Flower arrangements, Flowering Shrubs and Trees for Forced Flowers, Forcing Branches in Winter, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Plant Spotlight
Seasonal Prelude: The Scent of Spring…
Forced Blossoms: The Intoxicating Scent of Narcissus ‘Grand Soleil d’Or’ Remember the fragrance of spring; warm air carrying the sweet perfume of new blossoms on the breeze? Distracted by day dreams of earth-scented pathways; chilly melt-water gurgling up from stone? Â Finding yourself stalking the swollen buds of witch hazel, viburnum, azalea and other fragrant, flowering […]
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Conservatory, Exotic Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, orchids, Plant Spotlight
What’s Love Got to Do With It ? Confessions of Lust, Longing & Orchid Obsession…
It Always Starts so Innocently… Water Droplets on a Pure White Phalenopsis When I say ‘Valentine’s Day’, do you think red, long stemmed roses? Many people do. After all, roses certainly are lovely and romantic. But sexy? When I think about Valentine’s Day —and that naughty, naked, imp Cupid: flitting about and firing off poison […]
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Bulbs, Butterflies and Moths, Color in the Garden, Exotic Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Ferncliff, Flower arrangements, Fragrance, Fresh Cut Flowers, Gardening Inspiration, Gifts for Gardeners, Glamorous Gardens, Great Growers and Nurseries, Home, Indoor Table Arrangements, Perennials for summer, Plant Spotlight, Plants for sun, Summer Flowering Bulbs, Summer Flowering Combinations, Summer Flowering Perennials
A Warm Wash of Fragrance: Dreaming Of Lilies and Sultry Summer Evenings…
Dreaming of Warm Summer Nights and a Garden Filled with Softly Blushing Lilies… Asiatic, Oriental, Trumpet, Species or Hybrid: I’ve yet to meet a lily without falling in love. And while my weekend may be filled with practical matters —shoveling, clearing hoop-houses of snow, cleaning grow lights and sorting seed packets— there’s sure to be […]
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Children - gardening with, Children and Gardening, Cold-Climate Vegetable Gardening, Container Gardening, Cooking, Cooking with Kids, Early Spring Garden Plants, Extending the Growing Season, Garden projects for kids, Herb Gardening, Indoor Gardening, Kitchen, Onions, Plant Propagation, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Pots and Pottery, Seed Kits, Seeds, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Joyful New Beginnings: Bright-Green Herb Seedlings Emerging from the Soil…
Seedlings in the Morning Sun: Â Johnny’s Herb Disks in the Windowsill Garden (Coriandrum sativum) Lately, the weather in here in Vermont has been a bit challenging (to say the least). Even we native New Englanders start to groan when back-to-back blizzards deliver multiple feet of snow and there’s nowhere left to pile it! Three feet, […]
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annuals, Artful Garden Objects, Birds, Bowls, Children - gardening with, Climbing plants, Cold-Climate Vegetable Gardening, Container Gardening, Dark Plants, Decorating Ideas, Decorating the Garden, Drying, Garden Art, Garden Rooms, Gifts for Gardeners, Gourds, Holiday Decorating, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Kitchen, Plant hunting, Plant Spotlight, Plants for sun, Seeds, Urns and Vessels, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Vines - Annual
Simply Lovely: Etched-Gourd Cachepots
This Pretty Etched-Gourd Makes a Lovely Cachepot for Peperomia caperata ‘Raspberry Ripple’ (and on the right, Colocasia affinis ‘Jenningsii’) Displaying plants indoors can be as creative and fun as arranging pots outdoors on porches, patios and balconies. Whenever I spot an new and interesting vessel —natural or man-made— I log it in my mental-file cabinet […]
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Decorating Ideas, Decorating the Garden, Ferncliff, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Maintenance, Garden Rooms, Glamorous Gardens, Home, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Mudroom, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for shade, pruning, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Garden Room, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening
Indoor Eden: Simple,Verdant Beauty… Twisting & Twining English Ivy
Hedera helix ‘Glacier’ – English Ivy Twists and Twines Round a Metal Chair in the Secret Garden Room Busy about the Secret Garden Room this morning –potting, pruning and moving plants around to make room for new seed starts– I suddenly found myself driven to delightful distraction by my gorgeous friend, Ivy. Positioned as she […]
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Begonias, Exotic Plants, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Plant Spotlight, Rare Plants, Silver foliage, Terrariums, Texture, Unusual Plants, Wardian Cases
A Silver-Screen Terrarium Goddess: Platinum-Dusted, Red-Velvet-Robed Begonia ‘Royal Lustre’… Hello Gorgeous!
Hello Silver-Screen, Terrarium Goddess: Begonia ‘Royal Lustre’ Even Her Backside is Perfect – Just Look at That Red… Begonia ‘Royal Lustre’ Inside a Terrarium, Lined with Sheet Moss… Substance is important in life. We all know that. But sometimes, every now and again, we just want to be swept off our feet. When I find […]
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Cooking, Gifts for Gardeners, Glamorous Gardens, Gourmet Garden, Green House Gardens, Home, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Kitchen, New England, Plant Spotlight, Plants for sun, Recipes, The Seasons, Trees for Fruit, Tropical Plants, Unusual Plants, Woody Plants
Love in the Afternoon: Delightfully Decadent, Lemony French Toast…
Love in the Afternoon: Delightfully Decadent, Lemony French Toast Oh yes. I know what you’re thinking. What is she doing, lounging about in the afternoon with a plate of French Toast? Oh the sloth, the sloth! It’s just nothing but wickedness {smirk}. OK. Yes, Santa Baby, I have been a little —how shall we say— […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Berries, Bird Friendly Gardens, Birds, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Conifers, Cutting Garden, Decorating Ideas, Ferncliff, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Hardy shrubs, Hoar Frost, Holiday Decorating, Home, Late Autumn Garden, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, New England, Ornamental Berries and Fruit, Plant hunting, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, Shrubs for Winter Interest, stonework, The Seasons, Winter, Winter Garden, Winter Gardening, Woody Plants
Bright, Red Winterberry & Juniper Magic: Lovely, Native Ilex verticillata Sparkles & Glows on Grey, Chilly Days…
Ilex verticillata ‘Red Sprite’, paired here with Juniperus chinensis ‘Sargentii’ In the last weeks of late autumn —after the leaves have all fallen and deciduous trees stand naked and rattling in cold wind— the conifers and fruit-bearing shrubs reign supreme in my garden. Late fall and early winter days —laced with hoar frost and sugar-coatings […]
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Asian Natives, Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Butterflies and Moths, companion planting, Fragrance, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Maintenance, Gardening without Lawn, Ground Covers, Hoar Frost, Late Autumn Garden, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Woody Plants
Fire and Ice: The Flaming Red Foliage of Abelia Mosanensis Sizzles Beside Cool Blue Juniper Horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’…
Fragrant abelia (Abelia mosanensis) and Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’ (aka ‘The Blue Rug’) They say opposites attract —think Bogie and Bacall, Hepburn and Tracy, Lady and the Tramp, Bert and Ernie— in passionate relationships. Â And it’s certainly true that sparks tend to fly in nature, as well as on the silver screen, when something hot and […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Butterflies and Moths, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, Forcing Branches in Winter, Gothic Garden, Halloween, Hamamelis, Hardy shrubs, Honeybee Friendly Gardening, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Late Autumn Garden, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, New England, Plant Spotlight, Plants for shade, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Garden Room, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Shrubs/Trees for Forced Flowers, Trees for Fall Foliage, Vermont, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Must Be The Season Of The Witch…
“When I look out my Window, Many sights to see. And when I look out my window, So many different people to be …That it’s strange, so strange.” “You’ve got to pick up every stitch, You’ve got to pick up every stitch, You’ve got to pick up every stitch …Mm, must be the Season of […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Chartreuse, Ferncliff, Flower Seeds, Flowering Trees, Foliage, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, North American Trees, Plant hunting, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Texture, Raindrops, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Golden Autumn Beauty & Springtime Silverbells: Our Native and Ever-Graceful Halesia tetraptera…
The Golden Leaves and Rusty Drupes of North American Native Halesia tetraptera, (Carolina Silverbell or Mountain Silverbell) Carolina silverbell. With a name like that, you’d invite her into your garden for the poetry alone, wouldn’t you? I did. Well, sort-of. Although I was familiar with the silverbell clan, I wasn’t really sure of which Halesia […]
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Autumn, Celebrations, Corn Mazes, Farm Events, Garden Science, Halloween, Mazes and Labyrinths, New England, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Vermont
“He Who Walks Behind the Rows”… Lost in a Labyrinth of Stalks & Tassels: Exploring the Art of the Corn Maze
“He Who Walks Behind the Rows”… Clouds gather, dark and low on the horizon. The daylight is fading. You’ve been driving through miles of cornfields and back country roads. Suddenly, something  —a child?— darts across the cracked pavement and into the corn rows. Immediately, you pull over and step from the warmth of your car. […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Berries, Bird Friendly Gardens, Birds, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Dark Plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, flowering shrubs, Foliage, Fragrance, Herb Gardening, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, North American Trees, Ornamental Berries and Fruit, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for shade, Plants for sun, Purple and Maroon Foliage, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, Spring Blooming Bulbs, The Seasons, Unusual Plants, Viburnum, Witch hazel, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Mellow Yellow: Lovely Lindera Benzoin, North American Native Spicebush…
Lindera benzoin (Spicebush) in front of the Secret Garden wall (see complete plant list below) The question comes up every September in my garden. The meter-reader, oil delivery driver and countless guests have asked: “What’s that bright yellow shrub over there by the wall  …The one covered with birds and red berries?” When I ask, […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Black Plants, Butterflies and Moths, Chartreuse, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Dark Plants, Exotic Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Ferncliff, Ferns, Foliage, Fragrance, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Rooms, Gardening Inspiration, Glamorous Gardens, Gothic Garden, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Native Plants, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for Autumn, Plant Spotlight, Plants for shade, Plants for Texture, Purple and Maroon Foliage, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening, The Seasons, Woodland plants
Fashionably Late & Dressed in Maroon: Sweetly-Scented, Autumn Fairy Candles Light Up the Shadowy, Secret Garden…
Actaea simplex/Cimicifuga simplex ‘Hillside Black Beauty {also known variously as Fairy Candles, Black Snake Root & Black Cohosh} Actaea simlex ‘Hillside Black Beauty’, here in the Secret Garden with Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’, Lamium maculatum, Helleborus x hybridus ‘Royal Heritage Strain’, Paeonia mouton x lutea ‘High Noon’, Stewartia pseudocamilla, and a background of bronzing Matteuccia […]
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