Uncategorized
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Container Gardening, Garden Maintenance, Uncategorized
Snip, Snip Here & Snip, Snip There: Mid-Season Container Taming Tips …
Pots Filled with Vibrant Annual, Tropical & Tender Perennial Plants Accent the South-Facing Stone Terrace. The Sun & Moon Urn is a Long-Time Garden Favorite I picked up in Mexico. Empty Pots Make Great Accents Between Lush Plantings. Having recently completed a whirl-wind maintenance tour of the Wildflower Walk and Secret Garden, my critical gaze […]
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The Song of Summertime Salad …
The Song of Summertime Salad On long summer days —in order to beat the heat and burning rays of the noontime sun— I typically start my day quite early. There are many things to love about the daybreak hours, from birdsong and dew drops to shimmering morning light. If I’m working nearby, I try to […]
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Thoughts on Wild Beauty …
Prince Pickerel on the Secret Garden Water Bowl I’ve worked in many kinds of gardens: clipped, controlled and formal; sprawling, loose and informal. And it’s fair to say that I delight in landscape design of all kinds. Still, I find that my favorite gardens tend to walk the line between wild and tame. Too much […]
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Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, The Seasons, Tim Geiss, Trees, Trees for Fall Foliage, Trees for Fruit, Uncategorized, Winter Garden, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Native Beauty of the Forest Understory: Our Graceful, Flowering Dogwood …
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) Photograph â“’Â Tim Geiss In my work as a garden designer, I am constantly singing the praises of native plants to my clients; encouraging them to soften the edges of their landscape by blurring the boundary between the wild and tame. As an unofficial PR agent for our beautiful  native trees and […]
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Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials : Vermont, Perennials for Spring, Plant Spotlight, Plants for shade, Plants for Texture, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening, Uncategorized, Woodland plants
Lovely, Lavender Lady of the Shadows: The Japanese Wood Poppy Blossoms in The Secret Garden…
Glaucidium palmatum, the Japanese Wood Poppy in my Secret Garden today At times, it felt like a never-ending courtship. I prepared a special spot for her beside the wall; moist, mossy and protected from harsh sunlight and drying winds. I surrounded her with complimentary beauties; maroon leaves and burgundy-tipped ferns. I gave her the darkest, […]
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Dining Outdoors, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Dining Rooms, Garden Rooms, Garden Structures, Gardening Inspiration, Herb Gardening, Kitchen, Uncategorized, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Designing an Enchanting Edible Garden And a Workshop for Vegetable Lovers…
My Backyard Potager – An Edible Oasis in Mid-July Like a butterfly flitting about the garden before deciding where to settle, I found myself drifting in and out of greenhouses and garden centers last weekend, ogling possible additions to my backyard potager. I couldn’t help but notice that the aisles of my favorite farm stand […]
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Welcome Sweet Month of May …
Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’ at the Secret Garden Door. Read more about this fragrant beauty (click here) It’s May again, and the garden springs to life —filled with fragrance and color— greeting warm sunny days and soft, gentle rains with all the beauty in the world. Welcome sweet, sweet May… Blossoms Ripple in the Reflecting Bowl […]
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Trees, Uncategorized, Woody Plants
Poetry, Romance & Majesty: Celebrating The Beauty of Trees on Arbor Day…
The Romantic & Melancholy Weeping Willow – Salix babylonica Today is Arbor Day, and although media attention and private conversation may be focused on a different occasion  —I’m referring to the Royal Wedding, of course— I find trees an equally romantic topic. After all, how many lovers have been wooed beneath the boughs of beautiful […]
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Attracting & Supporting Birds, Bees & Butterflies: Free Gardening Seminar at Walker Farm in Southern Vermont…
This Saturday —April 23rd from 10 to 11 am– I’ll be presenting a free slide show, seminar & discussion,”Gardening to Attract Birds, Bees & Butterflies” at Walker Farm in East Dummerston, Vermont. This talk is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Please call 802-254-2051 or email walkerfarmvt (at) gmail (dot) com […]
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Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, Raindrops, The Seasons, Trees, Uncategorized, Vermont, Viburnum, Water Features, Woody Plants
Raindrops & Sunshowers
Stepping Out Through the Raindrops… Early spring is a busy season for gardeners, and it’s easy to get caught up in the many chores at hand. This morning, Mother Nature sent an unexpected gift —a rainbow wrapped up in a sunshower— reminding me to slow down a bit and enjoy the season as it unfolds… […]
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Holy Rasputitsa, What a Quagmire! Stylishly Rockin’ the Mud Season Ball…
“In New England we have nine months of winter, and three months of damned-poor sledding”.—-Old New England Proverb Welcome to Rasputitsa! Looks like this is the official start of mud season —Vermont style— and as they say: you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! I was introduced to the term ‘rasputitsa’ by a friend of mine —a world-class pruner […]
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Four Season Garden Design Seminar: Springfield Garden Club in Vermont
I’m presenting a free Four Season Garden Design slide show & seminar, sponsored by the Springfield Vermont Garden Club, March 9th at 2pm. The event will take place at the Nolin-Murray Center, Pleasant Street, Springfield, Vermont. If you are gardening in Vermont, I hope to see you there! Thank you, Springfield VT and Springfield Garden […]
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Ferncliff, flowering shrubs, Flowering Shrubs and Trees for Forced Flowers, Forcing Branches in Winter, Fragrance, Hamamelis, Hardy shrubs, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, New England, North American Trees, Uncategorized, Winter Garden, Winter Gardening, Witch hazel, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
The Sweet Scent of Springtime: Bewitching Hamamelis Vernalis…
Sweetly Fragrant Hamamelis Vernalis: North American Native Vernal Witch Hazel, Cut from My Garden and Forced Inside Copper-Orange Tassels of Witch Hazel Glow in the Afternoon Light March, much like November, is a different month every year in New England. Some seasons, March skies are grey and late winter winds are cold; heavy snow falling […]
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Garden Journals, Garden Maintenance, garden tools, Gifts for Gardeners, Herb Gardening, Indoor Gardening, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Science, Planting Techniques, Record Keeping, Seed Kits, Seed- Saving, Seeds, The Seasons, Uncategorized, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Winter Garden, Winter Gardening
Marking Time’s Passage in the Garden: Beautiful & Practical Journals…
Keeping a permanent record of your garden is one of the keys to horticultural success! I keep records for both my vegetable plot and my ornamental gardens December 2010. It’s hard to believe that another year is drawing to a close, isn’t it? While flipping through my garden journal last week, I couldn’t help but […]
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Cooking, Potatoes, Recipes, The Seasons, Tomatoes, Uncategorized, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Vermont
Welcome October! Capture the Beautiful Flavors & Colors of Harvest Season with Autumn Vegetable Stew…
The Colors of the Season – Autumn Harvest Stew I am a true New Englander. And while I do treasure all of the year’s beautiful seasons, I have to admit that October is my favorite month. I love autumn’s unique combination of fleeting, sensory pleasures; the subtle, changing light, intensely colored foliage, rich textures, savory […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Books, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, Insects/Entomology, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Science, Uncategorized, Vegetable Gardening
A New Year’s Resolution for Gardeners: Making Informed Choices About Gardening Practices and Products to Support a Healthy, Natural Environment…
We  ♥ Mother Earth The new year often brings about a desire for change and personal reckoning. We make promises, resolutions and plans to better ourselves and the world around us. Over the past couple of years, many people have committed to building environmentally conscious, self-sufficient lives. As a result, gardening, particularly vegetable gardening, has […]
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Candles, Indoor Table Arrangements, Late Autumn Garden, Lighting, Plants for Texture, Uncategorized
Bringing Nature’s Beauty Indoors: Creating a Festive Mood at the Holiday Dinner Table with Candles and Natural Treasures…
Bittersweet and floating votive candles… As we begin celebrating the holidays this season, our attentions turn toward the table, where we gather to celebrate and give thanks. Now that I have finished shopping for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving feast, I am beginning to play with some seasonal arrangements to greet my guests and illuminate the dining area. […]
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Cooking, Great Blogs, organic gardening, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetable Gardening
Stop! Put Down That Hoe, and Let’s Eat! Great Food Blogs to Stir Your Imagination and Wet Your Appetite…
June harvest: red chard, arugula, oak leaf and red rumple lettuce.. As I walked back from my kitchen garden on this wet afternoon, colanders and baskets filled to the rim with chard for rissoto and mixed greens for salad, I felt a deep gratitude for all that I have in this life. I can not […]
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