"The chief vice of gardens is to be merely pretty." -Fletcher SteelI came across that quote when reading grounded design, the blog of a landscape architect, on "Why We Plant"...and it got me thinking. It is an idea that can be extended to many an artistic endeavor. I think that people who are in the business of beauty most find themselves bored by the merely pretty and taken with a presentation of … [Read more...] about Garden Thoughts on a Garden Voice
Creating a Beautiful Landscape
Ideas and inspiration, tips and opinions, guidance on style for your home landscape. I believe that most people with a little education n design concepts and exposure to great landscapes can create their own plans.
Spring Pinks 2011
There are so many shades of pink in the spring, they stand out against all the intense green and are luminously in harmony with the heavenly blue skies. This year the blooms were a bit late and held tight buds for longer than usual.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ // ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ © 2011 written for Ilona's Garden Journal. An excellent blog. … [Read more...] about Spring Pinks 2011
Odd Thing Or Two About This Late Winter Time of Year
Pink, Red, or Fuchsia?Most gardeners have gotten a catalog or two, or three...or more! Garden catalogs have their own language and after awhile one understands the lingo, but at first it can seem almost misleading. I wrote a page about deciphering catalogs a number of years ago. Garden catalog advice. Essentially the two major things to look out for are color descriptions and the florid hyperbole … [Read more...] about Odd Thing Or Two About This Late Winter Time of Year
Rainer's Photo of native biomass exampleI recently wrote a profile on English ivy, and it is with interest that I read this passionate gardener/landscaper's post calling us to throw off the yoke of the groundcover and take on a style of native gardening.I empathize, and am almost persuaded. But there are a few things I still would consider....The vast majority of homeowners are not yet gardeners, … [Read more...] about
A White Garden or Moon Garden
Making an all white garden used to be quite a popular undertaking. Although the idea probably started, in modern gardening times anyway, with Gertrude Jekyll in her book, Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden, it was Vita Sackville-West who created the most famous white garden at Sissinghurst Castle. This garden was "designed to be at its best in early July and especially in the evenings or when … [Read more...] about A White Garden or Moon Garden
Home And Garden …coming right up!
The thrilling expectancy of Spring is in the air and what better way to feed the anticipation than to visit the Central Ohio Home and Garden Show which opens this Saturday, February 28th? I am so excited to go this year.You have time to hop on over to a Home Depot store and get discount tickets for $2 off the $10.00 adult ticket price! Children 12 and under are free. So sometime between the 28th … [Read more...] about Home And Garden …coming right up!
Home And Garden …coming right up!
The thrilling expectancy of Spring is in the air and what better way to feed the anticipation than to visit the Central Ohio Home and Garden Show which opens this Saturday, February 28th? I am so excited to go this year.You have time to hop on over to a Home Depot store and get discount tickets for $2 off the $10.00 adult ticket price! Children 12 and under are free. So sometime between the 28th … [Read more...] about Home And Garden …coming right up!
A Common Point of View
The charming landscape which I saw this morning is indubitably made up of some twenty or thirty farms. Miller owns this field, Locke that, and Manning the woodland beyond. But none of them owns the landscape. There is a property in the horizon which no man has but he whose eye can integrate all the parts, that is, the poet. This is the best part of these men's farms, yet to this their … [Read more...] about A Common Point of View
Garden Photos
Here are some pictures from the garden lately. A clematis which is supposed to be on a lattice, but I didn't get to painting it yet... it clambers among the mugho pine.Dortmund rose is finally settling in and blooms with deep cherry single flowers.Peony, Dames Rocket, and Hansa rose blooming together in neglected experimental bed.Thérèse Bugnet blooms her heart out in late May and early June. … [Read more...] about Garden Photos
Purple Leaf Sand Cherry: Short-lived Shrub
I was warned. When in the midst of life (my late twenties, early thirties) and in full thrall of new garden planting, I had read that purple sand cherries were short lived shrubs. I planted a beautiful purple leaved sand cherry, anyway.For years it grew and flourished. I even planned a color scheme around it, but alas, it is no more. Not in any shape that I desire to prolong its life in the … [Read more...] about Purple Leaf Sand Cherry: Short-lived Shrub
Spring Blooming
So much is blooming it is hard to keep up making notes on it all. The cherry trees, pear, and peach are all in bloom-probably the apples, too, but I didn't walk out that far to check. The crabapples are breaking into bud, the 'Snowdrift' variety has been blooming for most of this week already. Lilacs are coming into bloom, and Amelanchier canadensis is exhibiting some of the best bloom since I … [Read more...] about Spring Blooming
July ’07 State of the Garden
Lavender WalkI have been gardening, not blogging, and this was one of my resolutions for 2007. So far so good. It has been hot here, but we received some rain earlier this month; a huge downpour on the Fourth, which as a lady at Curve's said "We will take what ever comes and not complain." Bravely said, since they marched in the local parade.Not I, though...no, I was busy grilling fresh, … [Read more...] about July ’07 State of the Garden