cool gardens in a hot climate™
May 24, 2012 Lunch on the first day of the Garden Bloggers Fling in Asheville, North Carolina, was billed as BBQ and gourmet ice cream from The Hop—yum! Shopping for locally made pottery and art at Curve Studios was promised … Read More
May 23, 2012 The first thing you learn about gardens in Asheville, North Carolina, on the slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains, is that they have a lot of stairs. We’re talking serious elevation changes. What does this mean for … Read More
April 06, 2012 My next stop on the Houston Open Days tour on March 24 was an Old World-style home in the well-heeled River Oaks neighborhood. While their garden included the sweeping lawns, classic hedging, and emphasis on outdoor architecture … Read More
April 05, 2012 My next stop on the Houston Open Days tour on March 24 was the classically elegant Tudor Garden, located in the Broadacres Historic District. To my mind, the property’s best asset is the view of a double … Read More
April 04, 2012 My next stop on the Houston Open Days tour on March 24 was the clean-lined Lofgren-Bayer Garden, also located in the close-in Montrose neighborhood. Pictured above is a lovely dining patio in the rear garden. The official … Read More
April 03, 2012 My next stop on the Houston Open Days tour on March 24 was the classic, walled J. Green Garden, located in the Montrose neighborhood. The official description: This urban garden in Montrose is a lovely counterpoint to … Read More
April 02, 2012 The Garden Conservancy’s 2012 Open Days program opened on March 24 in Houston, a 3-hour drive east of Austin. Diana of Sharing Nature’s Garden and I made a day trip of it and started our tour at … Read More
August 25, 2011 In late July, after the Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling ended, my family joined me for sightseeing in the Emerald City and beyond. I convinced them to see one more garden with me, the Seattle Japanese Garden in … Read More
August 20, 2011 The final event of last month’s Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling was an afternoon visit to Dragonfly Farms Nursery—“Where Abnormality is the Normality!”—in Kingston, WA, and a fun happy hour on the lawn. Dragonfly Farms offers not only … Read More
August 18, 2011 The Bloedel Reserve is a place of utter beauty and almost spiritual peacefulness. Rain drips quietly from mossy branches, and the color green wraps you in a soft embrace. I explored the grounds for two-and-a-half hours—not nearly … Read More
August 17, 2011 Kate Farley’s west Seattle garden, which I visited on Day 3 of the Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling, is a garden of exploration from front to back. I’m going to start in back, because the Peruvian lilies (Alstroemeria) … Read More
August 15, 2011 Lorene welcoming 70+ bloggers into her Seattle garden on Day 3 of the Fling In a post on her blog Planted at Home, Lorene Edwards Forkner, a co-planner of the Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling, catchily describes her … Read More
August 14, 2011 Crocosmia (Seattle’s signature plant during the Fling) and Helenium at the Bellevue Botanic Gardens During the last month’s Garden Bloggers Fling in Seattle I witnessed a lot of happy bloggers and a lot of beautiful views. We … Read More
August 13, 2011 Faces upturned to the warm sunshine—that’s how Seattleites greet the sun, when it appears Woodland gardens were expected at the Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling last month. But mix in a classical folly dripping with flowers, glass art, … Read More