Recent Posts
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Cocktails, Color in the Garden, Garden Party, Music in the Garden, Recipes, The Seasons
Sweet September Sangria…
Sweet September Sangria The Colors of Early September – Rudbeckia hirta ‘Becky Mixed’ Along the Terrace The Colors of Late Summer Celebrating the end of summer?…What? The autumnal equinox is September 23rd (3:09 UTC)… That’s still more than a fortnight away! Call me a pagan if you will, but as far as I’m concerned, September […]
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Asian Natives, Autumn Color in the Garden, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Butterflies and Moths, Ferncliff, flowering shrubs, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Texture, Summer flowering shrubs, Woody Plants
Late Summer’s Garden Delight… Lespedeza thunbergii ‘Edo Shibori’: Beautiful Bush Clover, Buzzing with Bees
Lespedeza thunbergii ‘Edo Shibori’ (bi-colored bush clover)  A Bee’s Delight from Late Summer through Mid-Autumn Ever notice how there always seems to be at least one hopping joint in every town, where the locals routinely gather for their morning coffee or to grab a quick bite at lunch? Yesterday afternoon, I met up with a friend […]
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Nature, The Seasons, Vermont, Vines - Perennial, Woodland plants
Welcome September…
Hints of the Coming Season – Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) along the Green River September… Still summer. Some days so hot and humid that the only relief is a trip to Green River. The water is low and the smooth rocks are hot beneath bare feet. I slip along the bank; verdant moss, flickering light […]
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Art Inspired by Nature, Artful Garden Objects, Birds
Art Inspired by Nature: Soleil MetalArts Exploring the Beautiful Work of Florida Artist Shawn McCurdy……
Ribbons Birdbath (Aluminum, 30″ tall) Shawn McCurdy As the gardening season begins to wind down, ‘Art Inspired by Nature’ —an ongoing, seasonal series here on the blog— will be returning. And like many of you —some who have written asking about what happened to the regular artist-features— I’ve missed them! One of the things I truly […]
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Books, Cookbooks, Cooking, Dining Outdoors, Ferncliff, Garden Rooms, Gourmet Garden, Potatoes, Recipes, Seeds, Terraces, The Seasons, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Dinner in the Sun-Drenched Garden… New Potatoes in a Bistro-Style Salad: Pommes À L’Huile from Patricia Wells
Pommes À L’Huile – Warm Potato Salad with Fresh Herb Vinaigrette Late Summer Dinner on the Terrace There’s something absolutely delicious about the last weekend in August. What brings on this delightfully hypnotic, wonderfully relaxing mood? Perhaps it’s the warmth of the sun radiating from the stone-slab terrace, or maybe it’s the color of the […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Black Leaves - Trees, Black Plants, Dried Flowers, Ferncliff, Flower arrangements, flowering shrubs, Foliage, Fragrance, Gothic Garden, Hardy shrubs, Hydrangea, Indoor Table Arrangements, Late Autumn Garden, Old Fashioned Flowers, Plant Spotlight, Plants for shade, Plants for Texture, Purple and Maroon Foliage, Shade Gardening, Shrubs for fall color, Trees, Woody Plants
Hydrangea Paniculata ‘Limelight’: Gorgeous Color & Fragrance in the Vase & Late Summer Beauty in the Garden…
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ in the studio – Beautiful color and fragrance When it comes to romance in the garden, Hydrangea paniculata is never wishy-washy about where she stands. Voluptuous, lacy and fragrant; members of the panicled hydrangea clan are unabashedly feminine. Sometimes blushing and always glowing —the air about her buzzing with […]
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Annual Flowers, annuals, Autumn Color in the Garden, Bowls, Cutting Garden, Flower arrangements, Fresh Cut Flowers, Reflections, Vases, Water Bowl
What Lies Beneath: Floating Flowers Submerged in Watery Glass Bubbles…
A Bouquet of Floating Asters Submerged in a Glass Water Bowl Sparkling August light sent me on a late afternoon trip to the potager, and suddenly my arms are overflowing with voluptuous, late summer blooms. The cutting garden is bursting with dahlias, salpiglossis, dianthus, bachelor buttons, and asters, asters, asters – everywhere! This week’s steady […]
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annuals, Books, Cookbooks, Cooking, Freezing Produce, Gourmet Garden, Herb Gardening, Preserving, Preserving Herbs, Storing Winter Vegetables, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Preserving the Harvest: Fresh-Frozen Herbs in Oil, Butter, Broth or Water…
Frozen Herb Cubes with Olive Oil: Photographs Copyright Michaela Medina – thegardenerseden.com At six o’clock this morning, I was rather annoyed to be awakened by a gang of squawking bluejays. But when I rose, I discovered a beautiful rainbow on the western horizon. Suddenly, I found myself feeling more than grateful for the wake-up call […]
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Chartreuse, Climbing plants, Plant hunting, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture, The Seasons, Vines - Perennial, Winter, Winter Garden
I’ve Got Sunshine… On a Cloudy Day: Humulus Lupulus ‘Aureus’, Beautiful Golden Hops Vine
Luminous Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’, the Chartreuse Beauty of Golden Hops Vines Gloomy morning. Shifting, filtered light — melancholy as an old bow, dragging across a cello— traces murky shadows in the morning fog. The garden’s saturated colors —maroon, deep green, burgundy and rust— hint at summer’s end. There is a touch of sadness within the garden […]
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Color in the Garden, Raindrops
Sweet Summer Rain …
Rain… Sweet, sweet summer rain. At long last, the weather has shifted. Cool breezes have returned, bringing with them velvety air, grey skies and the softest of late-summer showers. For the gardener, a much needed day of rest; a late morning sweetened with tea and scones, and a leisurely afternoon filled with quiet contemplation. The […]
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Cooking, Herb Gardening, Recipes, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Golden Days of Summer Gazpacho… Celebrate the Queen of August Gardens: Glorious, Sweet, Juicy Tomatoes…
Golden Days of Summer Gazpacho Oh, sweet, sweet tomato. All winter long, how I long for you; how I pine for your sun-ripened sweetness and juicy flesh. Oh how I worship your delicious flavor. And now, in the mid-August heat, I kneel at your humble earthen alter. With toes stretched out in warm, golden straw […]
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annuals, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Cocktails, companion planting, Cutting Garden, Dried Flowers, Fragrance, Garden projects for kids, Gourmet Garden, Herb Gardening, Kitchen, organic gardening, Perennial Close-Ups, Plant Spotlight, Preserving Herbs, Recipes, Summertime Cocktails, The Seasons, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Savoring Summer: Harvesting and Drying The Garden’s Finest Herbal Treasures…
Drying Herbs in the Stairwell One of the great pleasures of living in New England is, of course, the seasons. The natural world operates on a distinct schedule here, and all life flows along with it at a steady pace. On these late August days, the song of the hermit thrush —an ever-present twilight melody […]
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Asian Natives, Exotic Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Ferncliff, Foliage, Garden Design, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for summer, Plant Spotlight, Plants for shade, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Summer Flowering Perennials, Woodland plants
Star of Secret Gardens & Shady Dells, Kirengeshoma Palmata: Late Summer’s Graceful, Golden-Yellow Waxbells…
Kirengeshoma palmata (Yellow waxbells) in the Walled Gardens at Ferncliff As the last wisps of fog melted in morning’s brilliant sunlight, I slipped outside through the Secret Garden, eager to gather my tools and begin the day. But there, rising from the damp shadowy walls, stood graceful Kirengeshoma palmata in a sunny spotlight; swollen-yellow buds sparkling […]
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Cippolini Onions, Ferncliff, Garlic, Gourmet Garden, Onions, Plant Spotlight, Preserving, Storing Winter Vegetables, Sweet Onions, The Seasons, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Simple Storage Solutions with Style: Beautiful Braided Onions…
A Sweet Onion Braid – Drying on a Late Summer Day Warm, dry air and sparkling blue skies; here in Vermont, these are the first golden days of late summer bliss. As I swing in my big, old hammock —surrounded by the meadow-song of crickets and chattering finches— my mind drifts to nothing more important […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Berries, Black Plants, Color in the Garden, Dark Plants, Ferncliff, Flower arrangements, flowering shrubs, Foliage, Fresh Cut Flowers, Garden Design, Gothic Garden, Hardy shrubs, Native Plants, Plant Spotlight, Purple and Maroon Foliage, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Summer flowering shrubs, Woody Plants
Midnight Maroon: Dark, Mysterious Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diablo’…
When you’re strange, no one remembers your name – Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diablo’ Oxblood, maroon, deep violet and ebony; dark plants are one of my greatest horticultural passions. From the statuesque Cimicifuga racemosa ‘Hillside Black Beauty’ gracing my Secret Garden, to the massive, dark cloud of Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diablo’ forming a shadowy hedge at the back […]
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companion planting, Cooking, Cutting Garden, Ferncliff, Flower arrangements, Garden Rooms, Garlic, Herb Gardening, Honeybee Friendly Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Kitchen, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Planting Techniques, Potatoes, Secret Gardens, The Seasons, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
August Abundance: Notes from the Kitchen Garden…
My Summertime Kitchen Mid August is always a busy month in the kitchen garden. Abundant cucumbers, summer squash, beans, tomatoes, peppers, herbs and onions must be harvested and put up —frozen, dried, pickled and/or canned— at the peak of freshness. Late summer chores in the potager include watering —especially during this extended dry spell we […]
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Cooking, Recipes, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Spiced Zucchini Bread: Late Summer’s Sweet Garden Delight…
A Sweetly Scented Summer Kitchen – Zucchini Bread – Image â“’ Michaela at TGE This past week has been a really busy one for me. I’ve been working on a rush project: a garden design for a private residence with an upcoming wedding. The plant lists and orders were all due and placed on Friday, […]
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Berries, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Container Gardening, Exotic Plants, Ferncliff, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Rooms, Paths and Walkways, Perennial Close-Ups, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for shade, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening, Unusual Plants
A Splash of Color in Dappled Shade: Persicaria virginiana ‘Painter’s Palette’…. { PS: Please Don’t Confuse Me with My Wicked Cousin }
Persicaria virginiana ‘Painter’s Palette’, Variegated Virginia knotweed (aka Polygonum virginianum/Tovara virginiana) in the Secret Garden at Ferncliff â“’ Michaela at TGE Who says a plant needs flowers to be interesting? Be they speckled, lace-edged or luminous as stained-glass, leaves are often incredibly fascinating. In fact, some of my favorite species in the great Kingdom of […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Caterpillars, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Photographers
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly! Insect Enemy Number One: Tomato Hornworm Wanted Dead or Alive!
The Hornworm (Manduca sexta) – Image â“’ Tim Geiss at Poltergeiss Wanted Dead or Alive: Manduca quinquemaculata (and also Manduca sexta) aka The Hornworm. Although he looks almost clownish in Tim Geiss’ photo (above), this garden pest is no laughing matter. The hornworm feeds on tomato plants and their relatives (other nightshades of the Solanaceae family; including peppers, tomatillos, eggplants, […]
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Artful Garden Objects, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Ferncliff, Ferns, Frogs and Toads, Garden Rooms, Gardening without Lawn, Paths and Walkways, Plants for shade, Roses, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening, stonework, Urns and Vessels, Walkways - Stone, Water Bowl, Water Features, Water Gardens
The Secret Garden’s Shadowy Allure & Mysterious Prince Pickerel’s Charms…
Prince Pickerel at the Edge of the Water Bowl in the Secret Garden – Image â“’ Michaela at TGE Cool, quiet and calm; a shady oasis whispers seductively on hot summer days. While blazing orange and yellow hues burn bright as wildfire in the meadow, my Secret Garden shimmers like an emerald in the dappled […]
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Artful Garden Objects, Berries, Fun in the Garden, Furniture, Garden Dining Rooms, Garden Rooms, Garden Variety / Barnes & Noble, Gardening Inspiration, Nature, ornamental grass, Other Blogs, Wildflowers and Meadows
Barefoot August: Splendor in the Grass and Sweet Bohemian Dreams…
Splendor in the Grass – Impromptu Straw Bale Seating from Paige Gilchrist’s   The Big Book of Backyard Projects Image â“’ Janice Eaton Kilby Long, languid, hazy days… August and everything after. Grab a baguette on the way home and some herb-scented cheese. Toss aside your iphone and kick off your shoes. Spread an old […]
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