I’m a pretty intense gardener. So when I love a certain specimen, I tend to use it with great abandon in my garden. Such was the case with Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Frisia’ and ‘Purple Robe’. I first came across this specimen on a trip to London in late spring, close to two decades ago. I was [...]
While I’ve never risen to the heights (or sunk to the depths?) of some rose addicts, I’ve put in my share of time obsessing over drool-inducing rose catalogs and clicking through photo-filled rose-related web sites. So, despite not considering myself a collector, I’ve managed to gather a few dozen favorites over the years, and many [...]
When I started my garden on a bare piece of ground twenty plus years ago, I never could have imagined that it would develop into what it is now: intensely planted multi-tiered layers of garden rooms housed on a steeply sloping one half acre property. This garden of mine has gone through several transformations, as [...]
Of all the things I enjoy about gardening, experimenting with plant combinations has long been one of my favorite pastimes. For most of that time, though, my efforts were rather haphazard: I ended up with some pleasing pairings each year, but I didn’t concentrate on any particular themes. About three years ago, however, I started [...]
OK…so I’m a sentimentalist. I still find it hard to accept that gardens are often dismantled or allowed to rapidly dissipate when their owners die. Think about sculptures, paintings, choreography, musical compositions and on and on: gardening is the only art form that is not promised a legacy for future generations. And yes, there are [...]