tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154741052024-03-13T22:15:22.563-07:00Garden Traveler ClippingsGardening news, views, resources and links from GardenTraveler.com. <br>Discover botanical and public gardens, arboreta, garden events, gardening resources, and much more.Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-85661735416613428792012-09-03T14:35:00.000-07:002012-09-03T11:11:29.785-07:00A Man Named Pearl<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 14px;">One of the most remarkable artists (and gardeners) that I know of is a man named Pearl.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 14px;"></span><a href="http://www.pearlfryar.com/subtemp.asp?cat=1&id=1"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 14px;">Pearl Fryar</span></a><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 14px;"> is an artist and his medium is topiary. But his are not the typical shear-a-boxwood-into-a-meatball topiaries. Sometimes described as “Dr. Seuss meets Edward Scissorhands,” Pearl wields a chainsaw and what he does with a Leyland Cypress will blow you away. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14px;">By now <a href="http://www.pearlfryar.com/webgallery/?detectflash=false&">Pearl Fryar's three- acre topiary garden</a> outside Bishopville, SC. is a well known destination for garden clubs and gardeners and anyone who appreciates beauty. His garden has been featured in local, regional and national media, including the NY Times, CBS, PBS, HGTV and Turner South. It’s important to remember that Pearl Fryar has had no formal training in sculpting topiary. He was once given a three-minute demonstration at a local nursery, but that’s it. For Pearl, it’s simple. He wanted to create a feeling and as a freehand, abstract artist, he goes with his vision.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 14px;">Pearl often is often invited to give talks at garden shows, which is where I was fortunate enough to catch up with him. Along with his PowerPoint presentation of his garden, Pearl brought along his chainsaw. He fired that sucker up and told the audience not to be afraid to cut – one of his many gems of wisdom that he shared. This is a man who is not afraid of heights. One of the slides showed him perched on top of an extension ladder, which is propped up on the hood of an old red pickup truck, and he’s happily trimming away at one of his trees.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14px;">As Pearl often says, “When horticulture people come to my place, to my garden, the first thing they say is ‘you shouldn’t be able to do that.’ And I say, ‘I didn’t know that.’ One time in my life, ignorance paid off.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14px;">How he got started is the stuff of legends. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14px;">Pearl and his wife Metra bought a house on the outskirts of Bishopville in the early 1980s and this was the first time Pearl actually had a yard. At the time, Bishopville was a small southern town and some folks with small minds were concerned that he wouldn’t keep up his yard. Pearl had seen "Yard of the Month" signs given by the garden club of Bishopville on other people’s lawns and decided he was going to get yard of the month.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14px;">Growing up in a rural town in North Carolina in a sharecropper’s family, Pearl was raised to work hard. When he and his wife bought their house, he was working at a local can company doing 12 hour shifts – four days on, four days off. So, he worked a 12 hour shift and then went home and worked on his dream. At first, his neighbors couldn’t figure out what was going on and were understandably skeptical. But, as one of his neighbors said, “He kept working, morning till night, and you could just see the miracle happening.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14px;">Plants for his yard came from a scrap pile of discarded plants at a local nursery. In a documentary about his life and his garden, Pearl says, “I took my hedge trimmer and every plant that was in my yard, I cut some kind of design in it. It took me about three to five years to say, this is it. I got it.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14px;">What was he aiming for? “It wasn’t important to me to create a garden. I wanted to create a feeling. When you walk through my garden, you feel differently than you did when you started.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 14px;">Now, when a bus load of gardening enthusiasts pulls up in front of his garden, he often tells them, “There are people who go by the book. I don’t go by the book. I’m writing my book and my book is going to be what you don’t find in the other books.”</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12px;">Visit Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, 145 Broad Acres Rd Bishopville, SC 29010-2819. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12px;">The Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden has been designated a Preservation Project of the Garden Conservancy. As such, the Conservancy will help ensure that important gardens like this one are able to continue so future generations can enjoy them. </span><br />
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Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-38819875848594394082012-07-30T10:44:00.001-07:002012-07-30T10:44:06.443-07:00Hydrangeas, Drama Queens of the Woodland Garden<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 114%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Hydrangea
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I think of hydrangeas, I picture a Southern belle
holding a limp wrist to her forehead, demanding refreshment to quench her
thirst from the hot Southern sun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Hydra” means water and hydrangeas do tend to
wilt rather dramatically to let you know when they want to be watered (although
experts say this isn’t necessarily the best indication). However, hydrangeas truly are
the belle of any good woodland garden and definitely worthy of attention (and
extra watering)-- whether they’re mophead or a lacecap (pictured).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mophead
hydrangeas (such an unattractive name for such beauty), with their dramatic blue and purple and pink blooms the size of your
grandmother’s mop, truly are drama queens of the landscape. The lacecap variety
are more delicate, and perhaps don’t get the attention they deserve.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to the University of Georgia Center for Urban
Agriculture, five popular hydrangeas are:</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bigleaf hydrangea (</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hydrangea
macrophylla</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">), sometimes called garden hydrangea, French hydrangea, or Florist’s
hydrangea; the flowers are mophead or lacecap.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oakleaf hydrangea (</span><span style="color: #686155; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 114%;">(<i>Hydrangea
quercifolia</i> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) with large, cone-like white flowers and large leaves
that resemble an oak tree.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Smooth hydrangea (</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hydrangea
arborescens</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peegee hydrangea (</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hydrangea
paniculata</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Climbing hydrangea (</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hydrangea
anomolapetiolaris</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What about the popular “Endless Summer” hydrangeas series? This
cultivar that blooms from late spring through fall is Hydrangea macrophylla.
For all, color is dictated by the pH of the soil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want visit some public gardens with hydrangea
collections worth viewing, here are some suggestions:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org/assets/media/images/hydrangea_garden_gazebo_350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org/assets/media/images/hydrangea_garden_gazebo_350.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 114%;">In Norfolk, Virginia, </span>the
Norfolk Botanical Garden’s Kaufman Hydrangea Garden features approximately 300
hydrangeas representing 20 different species and 200 different cultivars. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
most prevalent is the Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla), but many other
interesting types are found here too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gibbs Gardens, located in Ball Ground, GA, north of Atlanta, opened in 2012. </span><o:p style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More than 1,000 hydrangea, of 150
varieties, are interspersed with the rhododendron and are planted on a forested
north-facing slope of mature deciduous trees with gentle sloping walkways on the hillside. Blossoms appear in May and continue to October.
Colors include blue, pink, white, lavender and purple depending on the soil
acidity. What’s interesting here is that some of the hydrangeas have both pink
and blue blooms. According to Jim Gibbs, this comes from lime leaching from pathways
close to the plants.</span></div>
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<a href="http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/429070_206933692740107_1106964800_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/429070_206933692740107_1106964800_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Of course, the easiest thing is to have your own hydrangea collection to enjoy every day!</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-64714854801073167652012-07-14T07:48:00.000-07:002012-07-14T07:48:18.577-07:00Monet’s Giverny, an Artist’s Garden Canvas<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Which photo is from Monet’s
garden in Giverny and which one came from the scaled-down Giverny re-created
for the current New York Botanical Garden’s “Monet’s Garden” exhibit?</span><i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3lhsaP2FmZ0/UAGDP4hlceI/AAAAAAAAAHM/zewzB3hi6O0/s1600/_IVO5033CroppedGrandeAllee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3lhsaP2FmZ0/UAGDP4hlceI/AAAAAAAAAHM/zewzB3hi6O0/s320/_IVO5033CroppedGrandeAllee.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ddlhQ1gW0sc/UAGDuztCW9I/AAAAAAAAAHU/Xake8-0NJdI/s1600/IMG_20120528_082308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ddlhQ1gW0sc/UAGDuztCW9I/AAAAAAAAAHU/Xake8-0NJdI/s320/IMG_20120528_082308.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Each year more than half a million visitors -- those
who love art and those who love gardens -- make the pilgrimage to the small French village
of Giverny where the French Impressionist
master Claude Monet turned to both canvas and soil to create his art. Monet’s
glorious gardens were his inspiration and his studio. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For those in the New York area, from May 19-October 21,
2012, the New York Botanical Garden exhibition celebrates the life and gardens
of the most famous French Impressionist painter, including a re-creation of
Monet’s Grand Allée as well as the iconic Japanese footbridge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, if you happen to be in Paris, your journey can take
a while if you travel by train, for example. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In Paris, take the train from the Paris Gare St-Lazare train
station to the city of Vernon and then take a bus to the village of Giverny.
HINT: When they say the trains leave every two hours, they mean what they say.
And be aware that American credit cards do not work well in the ticket kiosks
at the train station, which may necessitate waiting in a long line to buy
tickets at the counter. (The train conductors will not wait because <i>you</i> had to wait in line.) However, there
is (of all things) a Starbucks in the Gare St-Lazare train station where you can
relax in comfy chairs and use their wifi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All in all, it takes at least two hours to reach the real Giverny,
including standing in line to buy tickets when you reach the house and gardens
themselves. Is the destination worth the journey? Simply, oh my yes. The first
view of the gardens quite literally took my breath away. Photos and canvas
cannot do justice to the gardens themselves. Monet himself said it best.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i> “My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.” <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i> —Claude Monet<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo top by Ivo M.
Vermeulen/The New York Botanical Garden<u5:p></u5:p><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo bottom by <i>The Garden Traveler</i>, who was too busy
enjoying the gardens to take good photos.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-72200594414525201372012-02-19T12:12:00.002-08:002012-02-19T12:20:24.190-08:00Flower and Garden Shows: Chelsea 2012<a href="http://www.rhs.org.uk/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?guid=611da80c-612d-4361-8209-22d9880a7d56&width=419"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 419px; height: 235px;" src="http://www.rhs.org.uk/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?guid=611da80c-612d-4361-8209-22d9880a7d56&width=419" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.mandgchelsea.co.uk/media/Images/2012%20Folder/Digital_Chelsea_PR_image_Jan_2012.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 720px; height: 401px;" src="http://www.mandgchelsea.co.uk/media/Images/2012%20Folder/Digital_Chelsea_PR_image_Jan_2012.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.s3i.co.uk/image/s3i/M&GHero.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 299px;" src="http://www.s3i.co.uk/image/s3i/M&GHero.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span >What’s a gardener to do at this dreary time of the year besides look at seed catalogues? Visit some flower and garden shows, of course! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span >If you’re lucky enough to be able to plan a visit, the granddaddy of all gardening shows is the RHS Chelsea Flower show which takes place for five days in May on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in Chelsea, London and attracts more than 157,000 garden enthusiasts each year. The Royal Horticultural Society's flagship event has been going on since 1913 and members of the Royal family attend the opening day every year. (In 1987, it was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales.)</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span >Sure to be interesting in 2012 is the Fresh Gardens category that invites designers to come up a design that’s more than “a traditional show garden.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span ><span >Last year’s, the M&G Garden, produced by show sponsor M&G Investments, featured a modern version of the traditional kitchen garden, with “raised beds where cabbages and beans mingle with clematis and roses. Lavender and herbs add fragrance and terracotta pots containing fruit trees appear throughout.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span >This year, M&G has commissioned landscape and garden designer Andy Sturgeon to create a show garden inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement that combines traditional craftsmanship, natural materials and country garden planting. As the plans show, it promises to be truly spectacular. And one of the wonderful things about the RHS Chelsea Flower show is that planting designs for idea gardens such as this one are will be available for garden enthusiasts everywhere. Inspiration!</span><o:p></o:p></p><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span ><br /></span></p>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-77507729130923352792010-06-23T17:04:00.000-07:002010-06-23T17:10:11.697-07:00Knoxville Botanical Garden & Arboretum<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/TCKh4yxktMI/AAAAAAAAAGs/kprsl74ASWY/s1600/Knoxville+BotGarden2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/TCKh4yxktMI/AAAAAAAAAGs/kprsl74ASWY/s200/Knoxville+BotGarden2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486125293165130946" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/TCKh4t41OkI/AAAAAAAAAGk/z-3sLT4DhfI/s1600/Knoxville+Botanical+Garden.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/TCKh4t41OkI/AAAAAAAAAGk/z-3sLT4DhfI/s200/Knoxville+Botanical+Garden.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486125291853396546" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/TCKh4Cu9TRI/AAAAAAAAAGc/ONm584SznEs/s1600/Knoxville+BG+1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/TCKh4Cu9TRI/AAAAAAAAAGc/ONm584SznEs/s200/Knoxville+BG+1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486125280269258002" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"></span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: rgb(87, 28, 31); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Located on an East Tennessee ridge overlooking the Smokies and five minutes from downtown Knoxville, this 44-acre garden was once a nursery run by descendants of David W. Howell, who</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: rgb(87, 28, 31); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: rgb(87, 28, 31); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">was originally granted the land </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: rgb(87, 28, 31); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">f</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: rgb(87, 28, 31); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">or service during the American Revolutionary War</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Citizens formed a not-for-profit in 2001 with the mission to preserve and establish a botanical garden. The site has some 2,000 plants, with mature trees and shrubs, along with whimsical round stone buildings, stone-sided greenhouses and secret garden paths and alleys.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now open -The Martha H. Ashe Garden. The stone walls surrounding the garden were some of the first built by the Howell landscape crew, dating to the early 1930's. A few of the unique plants featured in the Garden are a pair of large Japanese Tree Lilacs (syringa reticulata), a Snowball Viburnum (Viburnum macophylla) that has been trained as an espalier, Allegany Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis), a large China Fir (Cunninghmia lanceolata) and several Blue Atlas Cedars (Cedrus atalantica). The entire garden is watched over by a majestic Southern Red Oak (Quercus falcate) that measures 15 feet around.<br /></span></span> <br /> <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color:#571C1F"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;color:#571C1F;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Open daily, sunrise to sunset.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;color:#571C1F;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none"><br /></span></span></p></div><div><br /></div><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" /></a>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-6490748801555202182010-06-12T16:00:00.000-07:002010-06-12T13:01:51.216-07:00Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly)<a href="http://www.lavendergrowers.org/images/front.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 682px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 315px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.lavendergrowers.org/images/front.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Photo: The Sequim Lavender Grower’s Association</span><br /><p>Lavender wands, lavender sachets, lavender ice cream, lavender cookies. It’s time for lavender festivals, coast to coast. <a href="http://www.gardentraveler.com/pages/events.htm">http://www.gardentraveler.com/pages/events.htm</a></p><p>Now it’s time for some lavender songs. <em>Lavender Blue (Dilly, Dilly)</em> was performed by Burl Ives in a Disney movie and some other artists, including Solomon Burke. Sammy Turner had a Top 40 hit that your grandparents (or you) danced to back in 1959. Remember this one?<br /></p><p>Here are the lyrics and a link to Sammy Turner singing:<br /><em>Lavender Blue (Dilly, Dilly)</em></p><p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6djUWGzhnc"><span style="font-size:78%;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6djUWGzhnc</span></a></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Lavender blue, dilly-dilly</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Lavender green</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">If I were king, dilly-dilly, I'd need a queen</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Whoa-oh, who told me so?, dilly-dilly</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Who told me so?</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">I told myself, dilly-dilly</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">I told me so</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">If your dilly-dilly heart</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Feels a dilly-dilly way</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">If you'll answer yes</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">In a pretty little church</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">On a dilly-dilly day</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">You'll be wed in a dilly-dilly dress of</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Lavender blue, dilly-dilly</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Lavender green</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Then I'll be king, dilly-dilly</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">You'll be my queen</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Then I'll be king dilly-dilly</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">You'll be my queen<br />Lavender's blue, dilly dilly,</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Lavender's green</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">When you are King, dilly dilly,</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">I shall be Queen</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Who told you so, dilly dilly,</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Who told you so?'</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Twas my own heart, dilly dilly,</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">That told me so</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Call up your friends, dilly, dilly</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Set them to work</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Some to the plough, dilly dilly,</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Some to the fork</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Some to the hay, dilly dilly,</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Some to thresh corn</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Whilst you and I, dilly dilly,</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Keep ourselves warm</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Lavender's blue, dilly dilly,</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Lavender's green</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">When you are King, dilly dilly,</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">I shall be Queen<br /><br />Who told you so, dilly dilly,</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Who told you so?'</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Twas my own heart, dilly dilly,</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">That told me so<br /></span></p><p> </p><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" /></a>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-77114142357189111622010-05-21T12:10:00.000-07:002010-05-21T12:30:53.637-07:00Emily Dickinson’s Garden: The Poetry of Flowers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nybg.org/images/press_room/images/exhibition_images/spring_flower_show/emily_dickinsons_garden_the_poetry_of_flowers/_IVO7679resized.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 1500px; height: 1004px;" src="http://www.nybg.org/images/press_room/images/exhibition_images/spring_flower_show/emily_dickinsons_garden_the_poetry_of_flowers/_IVO7679resized.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Isn’t there a bit of a poet in every gardener? After all, many of our greatest poets turned to their garden, whether for inspiration or solace when the words wouldn’t come or another rejection letter showed up.</span></span><div><span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing">During her lifetime, Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) was better known as a gardener than as a poet. Currently the New York Botanical Garden is hosting a multi-venue exhibition, <i>Emily Dickinson’s Garden: The Poetry of Flowers</i>, highlighting the connections between her life and poems, and her love of gardens. The exhibit re-creates Dickinson’s own mid- 19th-century New England flower garden, a replica of the family property in Amherst, along with books, manuscripts and other artifacts. Visitors can stroll through Emily Dickinson’s Poetry Walk, with over 30 poetry boards and audio messages featuring Dickinson’s poems and the plants and flowers that inspired her to write them -- daffodils, roses, daisies, tulips, crabapples, and hemlocks. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing">Also on display is Emily’s white dress <span class="Quote1"><i><span style="color: rgb(116, 91, 44); "> “She dresses wholly in white, & her mind is said to be perfectly wonderful."</span></i></span><span style="color:black;"> </span><span class="citation"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); ">- Mabel Loomis Todd on Emily Dickinson.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "> </span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";font-family:";color:#997D5D;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "></span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi- ;font-family:TimesNewRoman;font-size:12.0pt;color:red;">April 30 -June 13.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-bidi- ;font-family:TimesNewRoman;font-size:12.0pt;color:red;"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p></span><p></p><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div></div><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" /></a>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-44358384851563139042010-04-18T11:00:00.000-07:002010-04-18T08:23:06.709-07:00An Olmsted Tabletop Garden<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/SeXajZ8TcII/AAAAAAAAABg/5I1tgSGOjeY/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324902436229574786" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 193px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/SeXajZ8TcII/AAAAAAAAABg/5I1tgSGOjeY/s200/untitled.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;">Biltmore House, the 250-room French Renaissance chateau located in Asheville, NC, was built in the late 1800s as the country retreat of George and Edith Vanderbilt. The Vanderbilts commissioned Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture in America, to design the grounds. </span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;">Probably best known as the landscape architect of Central Park in New York, gentleness, charm and naturalness are keynotes of Olmsted's style. If creating your own park based on Olmsted’s principals is beyond reach, why not try creating a miniature landscape -- an "Olmsted Basket."</span></p><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://to%20create%20this%20small%20garden%20you%20must%20first%20choose%20a%20container%2C%20plant%20materials%2C%20and%20accessories%20that%20compliment%20each%20other%20and%20your%20setting./">To create this small garden you must first choose a container, plant materials, and accessories that compliment each other and your setting.</a></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(72, 72, 72); line-height: 15px; "><h2 style="color: rgb(84, 17, 52); font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', serif; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 0px; font-size: 1.3em; line-height: 1.1em; ">Creating An "Olmsted Basket"</h2><p style="margin-top: 0px; ">Biltmore's gardens were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted as his last great commission. Gentleness, charm and naturalness are keynotes of Olmsted's style. The picturesque and pastoral elements of Olmsted’s gardens can be recalled in our miniature landscapes. To create this small garden you must first choose a container, plant materials, and accessories that compliment each other and your setting.</p><ul><li>Containers</li><ul><li>Can be a basket, ceramic bowl, brass dish or wooden box; anything deep enough to hide the pots and give you room to create.</li><li>If you use an open weave basket, line it first with sphagnum moss so the foil and mechanics won't show.</li></ul><li>Plant material</li><ul><li>Best to use plants with similar requirements such as light, water, humidity, and temperature.</li><li>Use some tall and low plants, some upright and some spreading or vining to add interest or depth.</li><li>The size of the plant or pot is determined by the size of your container; 4" pots are easy to handle and to keep watered. Pots of various sizes can be mixed but will change the ease of care.</li><li>All pots should have drainage holes; soggy roots will rot.</li></ul><li>Accessories</li><ul><li>Best to use natural materials; nests, rocks, bark, twigs, lichens, gourds, berries.</li><li>Be creative! Consider where the arrangement will be placed; buffet - candles or fruit; table - ornaments or figurines.</li></ul></ul><p style="margin-top: 0px; ">Procedures for designing "Olmsted Basket":</p><ul><li>Soak all plant materials well and allow to drain.</li><li>Line the basket carefully with florists’ polyfoil. This foil is moldable and has a plastic coating on one side. Use two layers of foil (wicker can punch a hole in the foil) as you want to create a watertight container.</li><li>Use floral foam (oasis) to stack and wedge the pots into position. The foam will not only secure the pots but will absorb the water that drains from pots and will raise the humidity.</li><li>Arrange the plants in an uncontrived manner, want a rambling, natural, fresh, simple feeling. Don't crowd and do vary height or depth of pots in the container.</li><li>Consider ease of watering when placing the pots. If too close to the edge of the container water could spill over. If the pots need to be close to the edge be sure the pot is slightly lower than the edge of the container. Plants toward the center can be elevated; run off water will be caught in the container or liner.</li><li>Place moss over all oasis and pots to cover your mechanics. Create interest with mosses by using different textures. You may use dried or living mosses. Brush moss debris from foliage with a small paintbrush.</li><li>Put your Olmsted Basket in place and accessorize!</li><li>Water with care as required by each pot; feel the soil. Some plants may need to be removed for watering or to be replaced. Just pull out, water, replace and remoss.</li></ul><p style="margin-top: 0px; ">Notes:</p><ul><li>These small landscapes are to be used indoors. Rain could drown your work. The pots have drainage but the basket does not!</li><li>By carefully choosing plant materials, using care in watering and by moving your basket to improve light conditions, your design can be very long lasting!</li></ul></span><br /><br /><p></p><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" /></a>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-68165470176685737332010-02-17T06:32:00.000-08:002010-02-17T06:40:20.237-08:00Pawpaws to the People<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.vegetablegardener.com/assets/uploads/posts/7285/K82cutweb_lg.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 430px; height: 323px;" src="http://www.vegetablegardener.com/assets/uploads/posts/7285/K82cutweb_lg.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(37, 37, 37); font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Did you ever hear anyone say, "I wish I had a dollar for every pawpaw I ate"?</p><p>Probably not because chances are you don't know of anyone who has actually ever <em>seen</em> a pawpaw, let alone eaten one.</p><p>Sometimes called the poor man's banana, pawpaws (Asimina triloba) are a fruit that you're not going to find at Kroger. In fact, when I asked a clerk in the produce department yesterday, she said she had never heard of it, but as this was only her third day she went off to ask her manager. Her manager came over and, I even spelled it: p-a-w-p-a-w , but she'd never heard of it either.</p><p>Well, that may be changing. There seems to be a growing interest for pawpaws amongst gardeners. Kentucky State University has announced that it will release the first in a series of trademarked pawpaw cultivars developed on the KSU Research and Demonstration Farm. According to their Web site, Kentucky State has the only full-time pawpaw research program in the world and they are working towards the development of pawpaws as a new fruit crop.</p><p>Its taste has been described as a combination of banana, mango and pineapple, and the pawpaw is the largest edible fruit native to the U.S. The catch is that pawpaws supposedly taste best when one shakes the pawpaw tree and the fruit falls on the ground. Hence the old song: "Picking up pawpaws, put 'em in your pocket . . . " </p><p>Pawpaws will generally grow in USDA zones 5 - 8. they prefer deep, well drained slightly acidic soil, and plenty of moisture. </p><p>For more information, check out the KSU Pawpaw Program: http://pawpaw.ksu.edu/</p><p>Pawpaw seedlings are available from the Kentucky Division of Forestry: http://www.forestry.ky.gov/seedling/</p><p>For you Garden Travelers who are also interested in pawpaws,the 2010 Ohio Pawpaw Festival -- PAWPAWS TO THE PEOPLE! -- is scheduled for September18 & 19 in Lake Snowden in Albany. </p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family:Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><h2 style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(115, 148, 8); margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; "><br /></h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></span></span><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" /></a>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-70160006254447812042010-01-29T04:20:00.001-08:002010-01-29T04:24:57.115-08:00A Garden Traveler’s Pilgrimage: Charleston<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/S2LS20vUr8I/AAAAAAAAAGU/tiEFp2-HEEM/s1600-h/Whaley+Garden.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 158px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/S2LS20vUr8I/AAAAAAAAAGU/tiEFp2-HEEM/s200/Whaley+Garden.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432135939874140098" /></a><br /><p><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-bidi-Times New Roman";font-family:";color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Where’s </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">your </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Holy Grail?</span></span><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-bidi-Times New Roman";font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;color:black;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">One day, are you going to follow the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) across northern Spain, a route that has been walked by millions of pilgrims since the Middle Ages, and who, even today, make the journey on foot, or bicycle or mule? Are you one of the legions of Elvis fans across the world (including Japanese Prime Minister </span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junichiro_Koizumi" title="Junichiro Koizumi"><span style="color:blue;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Junichiro Koizumi</span></span></span></a></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> when he visited the U.S.) who make the annual pilgrimage to Graceland in Memphis?</span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">For gardeners, Charleston, known as “a city set in a garden” is Mecca. For me, within this Celestial City of Southern Gardens, my Mecca remains steadfast: Mrs. Whaley’s Charleston garden on Church Street.</span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">It was early on a Sunday morning and, of course, the garden wasn’t open to the public the first time I made it there. But we were heading back to Atlanta and I could not/would not leave Charleston without making an attempt to see one of the most visited private gardens in America.</span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br />Like many of the gates and fences standing sentinel at the gardens of Charleston, the grillwork here was fashioned in black wrought-iron; a flirtatious Southern belle offering just a glimpse of a well-turned ankle. A charming gate, but still, it was keeping me outside of this particular Eden and I wanted to see more. Was that pittosporum (Pittosporum tobira) around the corner? I fancied that I caught a whiff of Confederate jasmine. Perhaps that sweet scent was a tea olive (Osmanthus fragrans)? Somewhere nearby a church bell was chiming. The current occupants of the house were undoubtedly enjoying a leisurely second cup of coffee, lingering over the Sunday paper, oblivious to this stranger lurking just outside. But I was to determined to, at the very least, catch a peek at the masterpiece the late Emily Whaley created, based on the plan originally drawn up for her in 1940 by Mr. Loutrel Briggs, the renowned landscape architect who designed many of the wonderful gardens in Charleston.</span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Alas, my traveling companion was tugging on my arm, mumbling about trespassing on private property, and I was forced to retreat with only a hasty look at my Holy Grail of Charleston’s gardens. In my mind I was not trespassing. After all, when your garden is the title of a book – Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden, by Emily Whaley in conversation with William Baldwin -- as well as the subject of numerous magazine and newspaper articles and has even appeared on the cover of the Charleston telephone book, it’s inevitable that stray gardener pilgrims will pop up from time to time.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Luckily for me (and everyone else), during Historic Charleston Foundation’s Annual Festival of Houses and Gardens, owners of the private gardens in the Historic District of Charleston graciously open their signature wrought-iron garden gates – and in many cases their front doors – to welcome visitors. During the month-long celebration, daily tours feature the interiors and gardens of nearly 150 historic private houses in 12 colonial and antebellum neighborhoods during the peak of the city's blooming season.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">I have visited Mrs. Whaley’s garden several times – legitimately, courtesy of events like these in Charleston – and I am always inspired and always vow to return. After all, inspiration is what we’re all searching for, in one form or another.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br />The late Emily Whaley said it best. “Inspiration is the bottom line. Without it the first move could not be made. . . . We see, absorb, winnow, and sift, and finally our imaginations take wing and out of all this come our gardening plans.”</span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">The gates will be open in Charleston, March 19 - April 18.</span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p></span></span><p></p><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" /></a>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-80331093967219499182009-12-16T15:54:00.000-08:002009-12-16T16:11:45.403-08:0010 Books for Gardeners<a href="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/14670000/14674129.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 185px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 217px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/14670000/14674129.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/44550000/44552124.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 185px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 248px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/44550000/44552124.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/20320000/20322902.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 100px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 140px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/20320000/20322902.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Here are my suggestions</span> for Santa <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">..hint, hint, hint</span> </div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">(I have a good many but not <em>all </em>of these)</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">“The Wild Braid, A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden” by Stanley Kunitz</span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">"American Horticultural Society New Encyclopedia of Gardening Techniques: The Indispensable Illustrated Practical Guide" edited by David J. Ellis, Fiona Gilsenan, Rita Pelczar and Graham Rice<br />"Home Outside: Creating the Landscape You Love" by Julie Moir Messervy<br />“A Countrywoman’s Notes” by Rosemary Verey<br />“Garden Wisdom” by Leslie Geddes-Brown </span><br /></div><div><span style="font-size:85%;">“The Welcoming Garden; Designing Your Own Front Garden” and “The Intimate Garden. Twenty Years and Four Seasons in Our Garden” by Gordon Hayward & Mary Hayward.<br />“Mrs Whaley and Her Charleston Garden” by Emily Whaley<br />“Vita-Sackville-West: Selected Writings" Mary Ann Ann Caws (Editor), Vita Sackville-West<br />“Notes from Madoo: Making a Garden in the Hamptons,” by Robert Dash<br />"Hidcote: The Making of a Garden," by Ethne Clarke</span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-11651412837845250272009-10-17T07:35:00.000-07:002009-10-17T07:44:33.530-07:00Dunaway Gardens, Georgia<a href="http://www.dunawaygardens.com/images/hettie.jpg"></a> <img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 404px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 604px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.dunawaygardens.com/images/about.jpg" /><span style="font-size:85%;">Minnie Pearl got her start here and Walt Disney loved to visit.</span> <div><div><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">When Hetty Jane Dunaway, one of the most popular actresses on the Chautauqua Circuit of summer theater, married booking agent Wayne P. Sewell, the couple moved to the Sewell's family cotton plantation near Roscoe, Georgia. </span></div><div><span style="font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:85%;">There, Hetty Jane turned red clay and cotton fields into her vision: a storybook garden as a setting for a theatrical training center. After its heyday during the 1930s and 1940s, the garden was neglected for nearly 50 years. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">Today the 25-acre Dunaway Gardens is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Regrded as one of the south's largest natural rock and floral gardens, there are spring-fed pools, stone waterfalls and extensive hand-laid rock paths, walls, and staircases.</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:78%;">Open May – Mid-November. Friday & Saturday, 10 AM - 4 PM. Sundays, noon - 4 PM</span></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></div><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" /></a></div></div>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-49894357943597319692009-07-03T08:29:00.000-07:002009-07-03T08:44:37.442-07:00A Garden Walk for All Seasons<a href="http://www.seasonalwalk.com/images/illustrations/project_perenns.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 175px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 263px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.seasonalwalk.com/images/illustrations/project_perenns.jpg" /></a> <div><div><a href="http://www.seasonalwalk.com/images/illustrations/home_page.jpg"></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Seasonal Walk at the New York Botanical Garden</strong></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:78%;">Armchair gardeners everywhere can stroll along the famous New York Botanical Garden’s Seasonal Walk and watch what promises to be a truly inspired garden installation take shape over four seasons. Linger as long as you want. In fact, if you want to go back and see April’s “confection of tulip’s blooming once again, go right ahead.<br /></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:78%;">The New York Botanical Garden’s Seasonal Walk is a broad garden path running between two wide borders, adjacent to the glass-domed Enid A. Haupt Conservatory that the Garden redesigns yearly, and refreshes seasonally.<br />For 2009, the Garden invited two international garden design superstars from the Netherlands, Piet Oudolf of Hummelo, NL and Jacqueline van der Kloet of Weesp, NL, to create a custom four-season garden installation, evolving over 12 months... “Both designers are known for sophisticated plant mixes, an artist’s eye for form and color, and complex naturalized plantings that evolve over the seasons,” according to the Garden’s Web site.<br /></div></span><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><em><a href="http://www.seasonalwalk.com/">The Seasonal Walk Chronicles</a></em> is a year-long project documenting the design as it evolves week by week, month after month. From planting approximately 30,000 bulbs in November of 2008 – along with the what, why and how (if you want to learn the flick-of-the-wrist technique so “the whole surface is a tapestry of bulbs”) is the work of Tovah Martin (the writer whose work has appeared in Victoria magazine, among numerous other places – including several Tasha Tudor books) and Rob Cardillo’s beautiful photographs.<br /></p></span><br /><p><span style="font-size:78%;">There’s also a Step-by-Step Guide for Landscapers, with useful advice such as “how to make a mixed bulb border happen,” along with plant lists and photos so you know what the plant actually looks like, and stunning photos of plant pairings(courtesy of Rob Cardillo) and lots more.<br />Enjoy! Over and over again!</span></p><br /><br /><p></p></div><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" /></a>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-24798762652063148072009-03-21T10:00:00.000-07:002010-01-29T04:18:05.829-08:00A Garden Traveler’s Pilgrimage: Charleston<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/R6CSNC2cL-I/AAAAAAAAAA8/XRWZg7d1rpw/s1600-h/Whaley+Garden.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161285925767753698" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/R6CSNC2cL-I/AAAAAAAAAA8/XRWZg7d1rpw/s320/Whaley+Garden.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p><a href="http://www.historiccharleston.org/images/photos/fhg_glorious.jpg"></a></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">Where’s <em>your </em>Holy Grail?</span><br /></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">One day, are you going to follow the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) across northern Spain, a route that has been walked by millions of pilgrims since the Middle Ages, and who, even today, make the journey on foot, or bicycle or mule? Are you one of the legions of Elvis fans across the world (including Japanese Prime Minister </span><a title="Junichiro Koizumi" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junichiro_Koizumi"><span style="font-size:85%;">Junichiro Koizumi</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> when he visited the U.S.) who make the annual pilgrimage to Graceland in Memphis? </span></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">For gardeners, Charleston, known as “a city set in a garden” is Mecca. For me, within this Celestial City of Southern Gardens, my Mecca remains steadfast: Mrs. Whaley’s Charleston garden on Church Street.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">It was early on a Sunday morning and, of course, the garden wasn’t open to the public the first time I made it there. But we were heading back to Atlanta and I could not/would not leave Charleston without making an attempt to see one of the most visited private gardens in America. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br />Like many of the gates and fences standing sentinel at the gardens of Charleston, the grillwork here was fashioned in black wrought-iron; a flirtatious Southern belle offering just a glimpse of a well-turned ankle. A charming gate, but still, it was keeping me outside of this particular Eden and I wanted to see more. Was that pittosporum (Pittosporum tobira) around the corner? I fancied that I caught a whiff of Confederate jasmine. Perhaps that sweet scent was a tea olive (Osmanthus fragrans)? Somewhere nearby a church bell was chiming. The current occupants of the house were undoubtedly enjoying a leisurely second cup of coffee, lingering over the Sunday paper, oblivious to this stranger lurking just outside. But I was to determined to, at the very least, catch a peek at the masterpiece the late Emily Whaley created, based on the plan originally drawn up for her in 1940 by Mr. Loutrel Briggs, the renowned landscape architect who designed many of the wonderful gardens in Charleston. </span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;">Alas, my traveling companion was tugging on my arm, mumbling about trespassing on private property, and I was forced to retreat with only a hasty look at my Holy Grail of Charleston’s gardens. In my mind I was not trespassing. After all, when your garden is the title of a book – Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden, by Emily Whaley in conversation with William Baldwin -- as well as the subject of numerous magazine and newspaper articles and has even appeared on the cover of the Charleston telephone book, it’s inevitable that stray gardener pilgrims will pop up from time to time.</span><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;">Luckily for me (and everyone else), during Historic Charleston Foundation’s Annual Festival of Houses and Gardens, owners of the private gardens in the Historic District of Charleston graciously open their signature wrought-iron garden gates – and in many cases their front doors – to welcome visitors. During the month-long celebration, daily tours feature the interiors and gardens of nearly 150 historic private houses in 12 colonial and antebellum neighborhoods during the peak of the city's blooming season.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">I have visited Mrs. Whaley’s garden several times – legitimately, courtesy of events like these in Charleston – and I am always inspired and always vow to return. After all, inspiration is what we’re all searching for, in one form or another.<br /><br />The late Emily Whaley said it best. “Inspiration is the bottom line. Without it the first move could not be made. . . . We see, absorb, winnow, and sift, and finally our imaginations take wing and out of all this come our gardening plans.”</span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The gates will be open in Charleston, March 19 - April 18.</span> </span></p><span style="font-size:85%;"><p></p><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" /></a></span>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-25710723576522510762009-02-11T06:50:00.000-08:002009-02-11T07:07:04.030-08:00Say it With Bare Root Roses<a href="http://www.rose.org/site/pics/766/68007/257279/357689/Pink_Promise.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 220px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 330px" alt="" src="http://www.rose.org/site/pics/766/68007/257279/357689/Pink_Promise.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">Valentines Day isn’t the only reason to think roses in February.<br /><br />Depending on where you live, it’s approaching the time to get ready to plant your own bare root roses, which I personally think are the best way to grow roses. Those of us in the South plant in mid- to late February, but check with your local Rose Society for information for your area.<br /><br />If you need some inspiration, this year's AARS award winning roses for 2009 are Carefree Spirit™, Pink Promise (shown here), and Cinco de Mayo.™ Carefree Spirit is the first landscape shrub to be named a winner. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:85%;">For suggestions on planting bare root roses, check out these instructions from the <a href="http://www.ars.org/">AARS</a>. </span></div><div><span style="font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:85%;">The <a href="http://www.ars.org/">American Rose Society</a> is another great source of information, plus they can put you in touch with local Rosarians in your area who'll give you advice. </span></div><div> </div><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" /></a>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-29631273783714889972008-07-05T11:22:00.000-07:002008-07-05T11:38:06.386-07:00Lavender Fields Forever<a href="http://www.lavenderfestival.com/_images/gallery/thumbs/Photo%206%20-Don%20P%20Dungeness.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.lavenderfestival.com/_images/gallery/thumbs/Photo%206%20-Don%20P%20Dungeness.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.lavenderfestival.com/_images/gallery/set%203/thumbs/Sequim%20Lavender%20Festival%20Purple%20Haze%20upick.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.lavenderfestival.com/_images/gallery/set%203/thumbs/Sequim%20Lavender%20Festival%20Purple%20Haze%20upick.jpg" border="0" /></a>Our lavender is just coming into bloom and it’s gorgeous. We use it as a hedge throughout our rose garden, and now the purple and blue spikes rock gently with bumblebees and butterflies perched atop the blossoms, like a sway pole in a circus.<br />Some background: Lavender (lavandula angustifolia) is native to the Mediterranean region. It was used in ancient Egypt as part of the process for mummifying bodies. Lavender's use as a bath additive originated in Persia, Greece, and Rome. The herb's name comes from the Latin lavare, which means "to wash." (from Wikipedia)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.lavenderfestival.com/_images/gallery/set%203/thumbs/Sequim%20Lavender%20Festival%20Purple%20Haze%20Truckload.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.lavenderfestival.com/_images/gallery/set%203/thumbs/Sequim%20Lavender%20Festival%20Purple%20Haze%20Truckload.jpg" border="0" /></a> Do you yearn to visit the lavender fields of Provence? If that’s not on your agenda in the near future, visit one of the Lavender Festivals here in the U.S. Both Washington and Oregon have cultivated viable, thriving agribusinesses of lavender and many of the region’s farms will be open during the festivals.<br /><br /><strong>12th annual Sequim Lavender Festival </strong><br /><strong>Friday, July 18 - Sunday, July 20, 2008<br /></strong><span style="font-size:78%;">Sequim, Washington is known as the Lavender Capital of North America and this is the largest lavender event in the country, with eight farms on tour. The Street Fair showcases many products made from lavender grown locally in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley by members of the Sequim Lavender Growers Association. There are 45 different varieties of lavender for purchase, along with new flavors of lavender ice cream, smoothies, and possibly lavender pie</span>.<br /><br />For more lavender festivals, visit the events section of Garden Traveler.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">If you’re fortunate enough to have some lavender already growing in your garden, here are some instructions for making lavender wands: </span><a href="http://www.achs.edu/mediabank/files/Lavender_Wand_instructions.pdf"><span style="font-size:78%;">http://www.achs.edu/mediabank/files/Lavender_Wand_instructions.pdf</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" /></a>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-20218454614186807252008-06-02T05:39:00.000-07:002008-06-02T05:54:36.723-07:00Gardens of SeattleQ. <span style="font-size:85%;">We are master gardeners and are coming to Seattle area in June. What gardens should we see? Are there private gardens open to visitors? (We visited back yard gardens in Ireland) Any help you can give on this would be most appreciated.Thank you!</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">A. The Seattle area has wonderful gardens – here are a few for your gardens-I-must-visit list. (Please check individual garden links for the latest visiting hours!)</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong><a href="http://www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays/events.pl?ID=113&SortBy=&State">The Garden Conservancy Open Days: Seattle, June 8</a></strong></span><br /><a href="http://www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays/events.pl?ID=113&SortBy=&State"></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">The Garden Conservancy is a national, nonprofit organization founded in 1989 to preserve exceptional American gardens. Gardens of unusual merit across the U.S. are identified and the Garden Conservatory works with their owners and others to ensure the gardens’ futures and to make them permanently accessible to the public. Inspiration came from England’s National Gardens Scheme and its guidebook, Gardens of England and Wales Open for Charity, informally known as the Yellow Book. During the Open Days in the U.S., private gardens are open for self-guided tours, $5 admission fee per person per garden. <br /><strong> </strong>· Old Goat Farm Old Goat Farm is a small nursery located in the foothills below Mt. Rainier. The property includes a very small farm with a 100-year-old farm house and a large garden featuring both sun and shade beds.<br />· Homeranch_Ted Van Velzen & Ruben Corpuz<br />· The Chase Garden<br />The garden is also open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays from April through October, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Reservations are not required on these days for self-guided tours. Entrance fee is $5.00 per person.</span><br /><p><strong><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.bloedelreserve.org">Blodel Reserve</a></span></strong></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.seattlechinesegarden.org/">Seattle Chinese Garden</a></span></strong></span></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.evergreenarboretum.com/"><span style="font-size:85%;">Evergreen Arboretum & Gardens</span></a></strong></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.kubota.org/">Kubota Garden </a></span></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.ohmegardens.com/index.htm">Ohme Gardens</a></span></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></strong> </p><br /><br /></span>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-73632934032111996312008-04-05T07:40:00.000-07:002008-04-05T07:52:59.305-07:00Growing a Garden: Idaho’s Sawtooth Botanical Garden<a href="http://www.sbgarden.org/images/wheel1.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.sbgarden.org/images/wheel1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://www.sbgarden.org/images/berberis.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.sbgarden.org/images/berberis.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>To conceive and create a botanical garden is a daunting endeavor for anyone, anywhere, but in Idaho? </em></span></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;">The Sawtooth Botanical Garden started as a community garden. In 1995 a small, yet determined, local group of gardeners and environmentalists acquired a former horse pasture – with the help of the Global Environmental Project Institute. The idea was to demonstrate sustainable gardening practices and allow community members to rent plots and grow vegetables and flowers.<br /><br />As membership grew, so did the vision. By 2000, the Community Garden was renamed the Sawtooth Botanical Garden, with a vision to celebrate the unique beauty and diverse plant life of the region and to educate and inspire people to appreciate and live in balance with the natural world. </span></div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>The Garden of Infinite Compassion</strong></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:78%;">In the Northeast corner is the Garden of Infinite Compassion, a high altitude alpine rock garden designed for meditation by renowned landscape designer Martin Mosko. At its center is a beautifully carved Tibetan Prayer Wheel, installed in conjunction with a visit by the Dalai Lama in September, 2005 and blessed by His Holiness.<br /><br />The 400 lb. copper Prayer Wheel, created by Buddhist monks in Dharamasala, is filled with over one million written mantras. As the Prayer Wheel spins, blessings and hopes for peace and compassion are sent worldwide. A journey through this garden begins with a path to the serenity pond, where benches offer a place to relax and enjoy the Healing Crystal. Placed throughout the garden, giant boulders keep watch over reflecting ponds and a quiet, meandering stream. </span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:78%;"><strong>Riparian</strong><br />Willow, Aspen and Cottonwood trees, along with other native riparian plants, line the banks of the spring-fed creek that runs through the garden. This creek is known as a Comstock Ditch which never freezes and flows year-round. It is a wetland wildlife habitat for birds, native trout, beaver, moose and insect life.<br /><br /><strong>Home Demonstration Xeriscape Garden<br /></strong>Funded by a grant from the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust, these beds showcase a wide variety of colorful drought-tolerant plants and demonstrate low water usage with a drip irrigation system.<br /><br /><strong>Herbaceous Perennial Display Garden</strong><br />A project donated and installed by The Dig It Garden Club, this formally arranged garden displays perennials blooming spring to fall in the Wood River Valley’s high altitude climate.</span></div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" /></a></span></div><div> </div><div><a href="http://7d8ca58ce9d1641c9251f63b606b91782998fa39.gripelements.com/docs/10stepsStart.pdf"><span style="font-size:78%;">For more information about building a community garden:</span> </a><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></div></span><div><strong><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></strong></div>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-40728609093431077402008-03-19T13:47:00.000-07:002008-03-19T14:09:31.796-07:00Announcing the Garden Conservancy’s 2008 Open Days<a href="http://www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays/data_images/235.raw.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays/data_images/235.raw.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays/data_images/235.raw.jpg"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></a><strong><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></strong></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:78%;">April 5, Vero Beach, Florida</span><br /></strong><span style="font-size:78%;"><em>My courtyard is typical of Andalusian courtyards in Spain, which were recreated in the Caribbean during the Spanish conquest.<br /></em></span><br /><strong><span style="font-size:78%;">April 5, Ithaca, New York</span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><em>A unique collection of over 400 snowdrop varieties along with other very early spring flowers. The 1848 Greek Revival-style farmhouse was moved to this site in 1990.<br /></em><br /><strong>April 27, Pasadena, California</strong></span><br /><em><span style="font-size:78%;">Designed in the 1930s by Roland Coate, we are the second owners of this magnificent Monterey Colonial house which is surrounded by majestic old oaks, broad lawns, and a variety of gardens. We have a mature, old-fashioned, two-acre estate which offers peace, beauty, and woodland serenity. </span></em><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Photo: Greenwood Gardens is a twenty-two acre formal garden in Short Hills, New Jersey, about twenty miles to the north of New York City.</span><br /></div><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;">From coast to coast, April through November, more than 300 private gardens like these will once again welcome visitors on scheduled days through the Garden Conservatory’s Open Days Program. </span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;">The Garden Conservancy is a national, nonprofit organization founded in 1989 to preserve exceptional American gardens. Gardens of unusual merit across the U.S. are identified and the Garden Conservatory works with their owners and other interested parties to ensure the gardens’ futures and to make them permanently accessible to the public.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;">The Open Days are self-guided tours, with a $5 admission fee per person per garden.<br />For more information, as well as the 2008 schedule, visit </span><a href="http://www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays/index.pl"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays/index.pl</span></a></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" /></a></span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></p><br /><p><em><span style="font-size:78%;"></p></span></em><br /><div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays/index.pl"></a><br /><br /></div><br /><div></div>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-83952959393305992052008-01-25T07:41:00.000-08:002008-01-25T07:50:55.898-08:00Catch up: Indoor gardening<strong>It’s winter and my garden really isn’t that inviting, but check out my terrariums! More and more gardeners are capturing nature in miniature and under glass.</strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><a title="blocked::http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22828363/" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22828363/"><strong><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></strong></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Bring the outdoors in with miniature gardens</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">MSNBC - USA</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Now’s the time to try three classic indoor gardening projects: terrariums, topiaries and bonsai.<br /></span><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22828363/"><span style="font-size:78%;">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22828363/</span></a><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:85%;">An inside job on terrariums</span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Los Angeles Times - CA,USA</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">A new generation of designers is reinventing the mini-garden, and devotees are lining up.<br /></span><a href="http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-terrariums24jan24,1,2981593.story?ctrack=7&cset=true"><span style="font-size:78%;">http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-terrariums24jan24,1,2981593.story?ctrack=7&cset=true</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Mini plants, major care</strong></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Mini plants, major care<br />Los Angeles Times - CA,USA<br />How should tend your terrarium? With anything from a heart surgeon's tweezers and surgical scissors to tools found in your kitchen drawer.</span><br /><a href="http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-terrariumsside24jan24,1,2568933.story?ctrack=5&cset=true"><span style="font-size:78%;">http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-terrariumsside24jan24,1,2568933.story?ctrack=5&cset=true</span></a><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" /></a>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-72740065368043973162008-01-08T07:19:00.000-08:002008-01-08T07:56:03.447-08:00Gardeners get ready: 2008 Flower and Garden Shows<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/R4OdApcVL5I/AAAAAAAAAA0/Z_kJFk6m0bo/s1600-h/poster-email.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153135033092222866" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/R4OdApcVL5I/AAAAAAAAAA0/Z_kJFk6m0bo/s320/poster-email.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="ftp://ftp.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.com/PR/PhiladelphiaFlowerShow/2008-PROMOTIONAL_PHOTOS/poster-email.jpg"></a><br /><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;">Anxious to get out in the garden and start planting, but cold weather and gray skies holding you back? Gardeners put on your walking shoes and get ready. The 2008 Flower and Garden Show season is about to start and thousands of garden enthusiasts, from neophytes to master gardeners, will find garden design inspiration and advice to make this year’s garden the best ever. </span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;">Show highlights typically include professionally landscaped gardens; amateur and professional floral designs; seminars and demonstrations; horticultural information and advice for gardeners of all ages; and great shopping. </span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>One of the first shows is the 21st annual Southeastern Flower Show.<br /></strong>This year’s theme: <em>Imagine That!<br /></em>Wednesday, January 30 – Sunday, February 3, 2008<br />Georgia World Congress Center, located across from CNN Center at Andrew Young International Boulevard and Marietta Street,<br />Atlanta, GA. </span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>The granddaddy of all flower shows: the Philadelphia Flower Show.<br /></strong>This year’s theme: <em>Jazz It Up</em><br />Sunday, March 2 - Sunday, March 9<br />Pennsylvania Convention Center<br />Philadelphia, PA</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;">Begun in 1829, the Philadelphia Flower Show is the oldest U.S. flower show and the largest annual indoor flower show in the world, covering 33 indoor acres in all. The country's premier landscape designers and florists turn 10 acres of the Convention Center into a floral fantasy world with exotic plants and eclectic designs.</span></p><br /><p>For other shows around the U.S. visit: <a href="http://http//www.gardentraveler.com/pages/events.htm">http://http//www.gardentraveler.com/pages/events.htm</a></p><br /><p></p><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" /></a></div>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-62433618639716702152007-12-10T05:25:00.000-08:002007-12-10T06:28:19.597-08:00Emily’s Birthday<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/R11CcDLpixI/AAAAAAAAAAs/H5lXoFhxMbM/s1600-h/Emily_Dickinson.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142339399184911122" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/R11CcDLpixI/AAAAAAAAAAs/H5lXoFhxMbM/s200/Emily_Dickinson.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">Some say Emily Dickinson (1830–86) is America’s greatest poet. I know that </span><span style="font-size:85%;">she’s definitely one of myFaves. Since today’s Miss Emily’s birthday, here are some of her thoughts.</span><br /><br /></div><p>To make a prairie it takes a clover<br />And one bee, ―<br />One clover, and a bee,<br />And revery.<br />The revery alone will do<br />If bees are few.</p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">###</span></p><p>Before you thought of spring,<br />Except as a surmise,<br />You see, God bless his suddenness,<br />A fellow in the skies<br />Of independent hues,<br />A little weather-worn,<br />Inspiriting habiliments<br />Of indigo and brown.<br /><br />With specimens of song,<br />As if for you to choose,<br />Discretion in the interval,<br />With gay delays he goes<br />To some superior tree<br />Without a single leaf,<br />And shouts for joy to nobody<br />But his seraphic self! </p><br /><div><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" /></a> </div><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/claim/rj9vwfat8d" rel="me">Technorati Profile</a>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-74165333620002946602007-12-06T05:59:00.000-08:002007-12-10T06:29:43.887-08:00Inside Out<p><span style="font-family:verdana;">The Art and Craft of Home Landscaping<br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">By Jeff Hutton</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:78%;">Are you a <em>gardener</em> or a l<em>andscaper</em>? According to Jeff Hutton, a landscape designer in Vernon, Connecticut, there’s a distinction. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:78%;">After all, would you furnish your home by popping into a furniture store on a whim, buying whatever catches your eye and then shoving your I-don’t-care-if-it-is-too big -and-clashes-I-want-it-anyway sofas and chairs just anywhere and expect your home to look attractive and inviting? Well, if your whole house is furnished straight from Ethan Allen, yeah, you might. Most people, however, decorate their home with at least some thought to the basics of concepts like color, space, patterns, flow, scale — even if it’s only subconsciously.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:78%;">These same basic design principles could and should apply to the landscape outside of your home as well, according to Hutton, who shares his more than thirty years of experience designing outdoor living spaces in his new book, <em>Inside Out</em>. Hutton advocates “. . . merging the surrounding landscape with the structure of the house.” Calling himself, “a great proponent of what I call ‘inside out’ – effectively blurring the border between architecture and landscape architecture, or interior and exterior design,” he contends: “Your yard is the canvas. Design is about composition, no matter what the application.”<br /></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:78%;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:78%;">Since too much of my garden canvas is now blank, courtesy of the ongoing drought here in Georgia, this book offers a much-needed landscape cache of information and ideas. Foundation beds, walkways and paths, decks and porches, patios and courtyards, retaining walls, ornamental grasses, ornamental and shade trees, foliage and flowers, as well as easy-to-follow discussions of integration, intersection, association, balance, composition, and color are all here in the wonderful book.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:78%;">Hutton is also a self-proclaimed lifelong student of plant nomenclature and he includes a fascinating chapter on deciphering the Linnaeus Code, the methodology of classifying and naming living organisms organized by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, often called the Father of Taxonomy. According to Hutton, “It’s pretty satisfying to be able to read the label on a plant, and understand its character from its name.” </span></p><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:78%;">Do you think this is useless information? Not so. If you’re browsing the garden center for something to plant in that small wedge of ground next to your house, you’ll know enough to give the plant with giganteum on its label a pass.<br /><br /><br /></p></span><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/claim/rj9vwfat8d" rel="me">Technorati Profile</a>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-39942058633386272112007-11-12T11:39:00.000-08:002007-12-08T10:48:09.575-08:00Child’s Play: Longwood's New Indoor Children's Garden<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/RziuW-zn_nI/AAAAAAAAAAY/BWE9MgdU7q0/s1600-h/DSC_1682.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132043485228564082" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9_w_HzQv0cE/RziuW-zn_nI/AAAAAAAAAAY/BWE9MgdU7q0/s200/DSC_1682.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Does “children” and “garden” and “glass” sound like a kid-friendly activity? Most definitely — at Longwood's New Indoor Children's Garden. More than a decade in the making, the new 4,000 square-foot Indoor Children’s Garden is three times larger than Longwood’s previous indoor children’s garden. A surrounding walkway allows “grown” children to enjoy the garden, as well as keep an eye on the action.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">What’s the theme? “Longwood Children’s Garden is unique because there is no central theme,” said Patricia Evans, communications manager at Longwoods. “We have created a magical world for children to explore and most importantly, use their imaginations to create the story or experience with each visit. There are educational elements, and the opportunity for kids to learn about plants, but the most important goal was for children to realize the joy of being in a garden, to want to visit gardens and perhaps inspire future horticulturists!”<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Along with 17 fountains, Longwood’s Indoor Children's Garden features:<br /><strong>The Central Cove,</strong> with a tree-covered seating area, a central pool with flower-shaped water jets and jewel-like mosaics, and three animal adorned sculptures shooting streams of water from overhead into the pool. Children will move from the Central Cove into the Rain Pavilion, which features water curtains on two sides. Look up and you will see the glass ceiling allowing a view of water running overhead.<br /><strong>The Secret Room</strong> is home to the Drooling Dragon water feature, and a balcony that overlooks the Central Cove.<br /><strong>The Ramp</strong>, accented by an ever-changing Water Curtain and animated by the leaping water “glow worm,” leads children to a Tower overlooking the Bamboo Maze. Water runs down the glow worm into a swallowing salamander at the bottom of the ramp.<br /><strong>The Grotto Cave</strong>, underneath the Tower, contains a shallow fog-covered pool activated by water dripping from sculpted snakes coiled overhead.<br /><strong>The Bamboo Maze</strong> offers a jungle of tree-size bamboos for children to explore. The Maze contains five visitor-activated water features accented with ornate bird sculptures. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><br />Longwood Gardens, located on US Route 1 near Kennett Square, PA, is open daily. For more information, visit </span><a href="http://www.longwoodgardens.org/"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">www.longwoodgardens.org</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">.</span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">The Drooling Dragon (pictured) is the centerpiece of Longwood’s new Indoor Children’s Garden. Weighing an amazing 3,500 pounds, water streams down the Dragon’s mouth and colored lights add to the effect.</span><br /><br /><strong></strong><br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://gardentravelerclippings.blogspot.com"><img alt="Add to Technorati Favorites" src="http://static.technorati.com/pix/fave/btn-fave2.png" /></a>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15474105.post-16091588848041594692007-08-25T15:19:00.000-07:002007-08-25T15:35:05.347-07:00The $64 Tomato<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:verdana;">The $64 Tomato,</span></strong> How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, </div><div align="center">Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis </div><div align="center">in the Quest for the Perfect Garden<br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">By William Alexander</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">I don’t know about you, but I have never considered adding up how much I spend on my garden during the year and then, somehow, calculating how much each plant has actually cost. I’m feeling stressed just thinking about it.<br /><br />However, a New England gardener named William Alexander did just that for his three acre backyard vegetable garden and small orchard in a small town in the Hudson Valley. The result is his hilarious book: The $64 Tomato.<br /><br />Alexander relates his quest for organic gardening, IPM (integrated pest management) and agonizes over the philosophical horticultural conundrum: what actually constitutes “organic”? He takes us along as he starts down the slippery slope of chemicals in the garden, providing us with lots of laughs, as well as a lot of interesting facts. (Although I learned more than I really needed to know about apple trees and baggies.)<br /><br />When his family has the inevitable plumbing problems related to their septic tank, we meet Lou, the local excavator, who doesn’t quite finish up the job he started back in the November. Not only do the Alexanders not hear from him, but Lou leaves his backhoe behind, stuck in their yard.<br /><br />For Alexander, gardening is also a bit of a blood sport. He tries to go after deer, squirrels, an opossum and a groundhog he calls Superchuck. I’m not a hunting/trapping fan, so I was rooting for his Havahartattack trap. Thankfully, Alexander is rather inept at animal control.<br /><br />William Alexander deftly and hilariously relates his gardening/small-scale farming experience (When does a vegetable garden become a farm? Is yet another thought worth exploring.) When it’s too hot or too cold to be out in your garden, do yourself a favor and curl up with this excellent book. You won’t be disappointed.</span> </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">P.S. Next year I’m going to grow heirloom Brandywine tomatoes.</span> </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span></div><div align="left"><blockquote><span style="font-size:78%;">“Gardening is, by its very nature, an expression of the triumph of optimism over experience. No matter how bad this year was, there’s always next year. Experience doesn’t count. Just because the carrots have been knobby, misshapen, and somewhat bitter four years in a row doesn’t mean they’re going to be knobby and misshapen next year.” --- William Alexander</span></blockquote></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span></div><div align="left"></div>Pamela Rentz Communicationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672119366460883406noreply@blogger.com0