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The very best books on my shelves suffer scribbles in their margins.  Future book sellers will either be amused or dismayed by my vandalism, but I cannot stop myself (and I always use pencil). A good book speaks to you and prompts you to answer back.  It is a long and involved conversation over many [...] The post Windcliff: A book for passionate and playful gardeners appeared first on […]

Remodelista editors showcased some of their favorite Black designers this week. Here are a few of the inspiring, must-see projects: Plus: Bathroom of the Week: Ferren Gipson Upgrades Her London Loo (and Makes Room for the Laundry) Sleek Hardware from Starchitect David Adjaye, Courtesy of Izé Steal This Look: A Hudson Valley Artist’s Above-the-Shop Bath

From the GardenRant archives, this post was originally published in December of 2008.  By Allan Armitage I wrote this a number of years ago after I discovered gardeners, even students, were intimidated when trying to give scientific names. They said they felt silly especially if they were with other gardeners whom they were sure “knew [...] The post Armitage on pronouncing plant names: Get the […]

One morning in 1854, after “thundering into New Orleans” on a riverboat, Frederick Law Olmsted had a bath and some breakfast at his hotel and then wandered onto an intoxicating scene: “I was delighted when I reached the old Place d’Armes, now a public garden, bright with orange and lemon trees, and roses, and myrtles,

A Choral Feast. At Christmas we went to a (socially distanced) concert in Hereford Cathedral. We are great fans of small choirs who sing Renaissance, Baroque and modern choral music: in this case it was Ex Cathedra. And part of the beauty of the experience is the places these choirs perform in, which are usually [...] The post Gardens and Music appeared first on GardenRant.

Hollywood’s version of the 1920s managed to be both giddy (the talkies are coming!) and gratified, because how else could you feel about life in a palm-tree paradise? Nowhere was the contrast more apparent than in Hancock Park, built as an architecturally fanciful experiment where Tudor turrets sit next door to Connecticut clapboard. Developed as a city neighborhood

Breaking a 191-year-old tradition—necessitated by the current pandemic but long overdue in this gardener’s opinion—the Philadelphia Flower Show (PFS, shown above)) will, this year, be held outside. It would seem natural to hold a flower show outside, but, in the US, it is not the norm. Seattle, Sacramento, Chicago, Boston, and even South Carolina all [...] The post Philadelphia Flower […]

Mangave (x Mangave) Sometimes two great things come together and mix—like chocolate and peanut butter—or,  in the horticulture world, the relatively recent commingling of Manfreda and Agave to create the visually appealing Mangave. If you’re like me and love to discover exotic-looking new plants to introduce into your garden, you’ve come to the right place.

It’s a complete miss and it’s sad. Anyone who opens American Gardens—the book that accompanies Monty Don’s BBC TV series by the same name—expecting to be wowed by spectacular photography and glowing prose about Yankee gardening prowess needs to lower his or her expectations. Hard. Keep in mind that Don is a beloved garden presenter [...] The post American Gardens: Didn’t love the […]

“We should start composting,” my husband recently said to me. What I heard instead: “Why aren’t you composting? If you really care about gardening, shouldn’t you compost? Are you lazy? An imposter? A hypocrite?” Cue a long, defensive, and slightly hysterical response. To be fair (to myself), I have a history of accurately reading between

Rain chains, a feature of Japanese architecture, are a pleasant alternative to downspouts. The Japanese translation is kusari doi, and for centuries the chains have hung from eaves of Buddhist temples to funnel rainwater from roof to earth (or into a barrel or catchment tank). Japanese architecture takes inspiration from the natural world, and kusari doi are

21 February 2020 Lovettsville, VA Dear Scott, It is Sunday morning, everyone is fed, and there is still six inches of crusty, icy snow upon the ground. The will to put my boots back on and be upthrusting and productive outside dwindles with each contented sigh of little Mungo here at my feet.  It is [...] The post United in Condemnation & Tonic: A Letter to the Midwest appeared first on […]

Kaffe Fasset: Well, how do we feel about him? A knitter, embroiderer, patchwork maker, teacher and writer. Famous in the UK, travelled here from California. For many years such craft workers have been predominantly women, (though, small nudge of pride, my father was an embroiderer). Yet Kaffe Fassett is a man who managed to get [...] The post Winter Colour in the Garden appeared first on […]

Guest Post by C.L. Fornari In April of 2020 my speaking business had to suddenly shift from in-person talks to virtual presentations. Zoom became my new best friend. Some groups and audiences were quick to embrace this means of staying in touch, while others were slower to admit that if any gatherings and talks were [...] The post Presenting to Garden Groups Virtually ~ the good, the bad, and […]

Much of the country is covered in ice and snow this week. Remodelista countered the wintry mix with lots of colorful, spring-forward content: Plus: 10 Easy Pieces: The Perfect White Sofa, Updated Edition Colour Makes People Happy: A Renegade Paint Guru in East Sussex Remodeling 101: Five Questions to Ask When Choosing Kitchen Countertops Found:

When Melbourne, Australia-based landscape designer Ben Scott first saw a newly built farmhouse on a 20-acre property about an hour’s drive south from the city, there was no garden to speak of. The only existing feature he had to work with was a stand of slender, native eucalyptus trees with a strong, architectural silhouette. That

Despite what you may have earnestly been told through grapevines that should know better, deer do not avoid native plants due to a convenient co-evolutionary agreement between flora and fauna. Whether they’re the white-tailed marauders of the East Coast, or the long-eared mule deer of my California childhood, deer consider native foliage just as palatable [...] The post New Book Gives Advice to […]

Monarch butterflies have been in the news lately, and unfortunately it’s not because thousands of them have made their epic long-distance southern migration to their California coast and Mexico wintering spots. They’re making headlines because their numbers are critically low—so low that they are tragically inching to extinction. Western monarchs generally head south from the

Even with slowly lengthening daylight, what little sun we have has been eclipsed this year by pandemic hair, ice and snow. I’m willing to forego a haircut if this story reaches the distinguished secret order of The Sons of Lee Marvin. My hair is gray and growing longer. I’ve got credentials in the plant world. [...] The post Pandemic Hair, Ice, Snow and The Sons of Lee Marvin appeared first […]

When the wife of shipping magnate Charles Morgan suddenly died in the summer of 1885 and left her heirs 2,000 exotic plants to sell at auction in New York City, her flaming red anthuriums drew bids of up to $110 per plant. These days, however, anthuriums have been mostly demoted from Victorian trophy flowers to hotel lobbies, where their waxy, spade-shaped leaves are valued mainly for

Welcome guest Ranter Loree Bohl.  Do you know what I hate? Being told how I’m supposed to do something. Phrases like “that’s just how it’s done…” or “everybody does it that way” always  get my hackles up. Usually, the person giving the advice has nothing but the best intentions, but I still end up questioning [...] The post A fearless gardener shares some of her nonrules […]

Courtyard gardens, enclosed on all sides by walls or fences, can transform a cramped space into an oasis. They preserve privacy while welcoming sunlight. They make even the smallest home feel larger. We’ve collected 10 of our favorites. Color Code Balcony Views Privacy, Please For more of this garden, see Before & After: From ‘Fishbowl’ Townhouse Garden to Private Oasis. Elegant

Pam's kids loved their lawnless front yard. Guest Rant by Pam Penick Originally published in 2013, Pam's rant is more relevant than ever.  Lawns are for kids, right? After all, they need that big, green carpet to enjoy the outdoors. Would it be an exaggeration to say it borders on neglect not to [...] The post Want your kids to play outside? Rip out the lawn! appeared first on GardenRant.

Perennial vegetables come back year after year in edible gardens and if you adore plants that take care of themselves, give them a try. Perennial vegetables combine the seasonal thrills of annual planting with the joy of survival after hibernation. Besides their poetic usefulness, they use fewer resources and require less maintenance than annuals. They produce beautiful flowers

Especially not from utility companies. The image above was taken on a street on the east side of Buffalo, but this scene, or something similar, is common throughout the US, from Pasadena to Lexington to Aroostook. I’m lucky on my street, because our power lines are behind our houses and the tall shade trees on [...] The post No love for street trees appeared first on GardenRant.

In what her office called "The first lady’s surprise Valentine messages to the country, Valentine's Day candies with messages of love and healing were installed overnight, surprising the President.  They talked with reporters, and C-SPAN got it on tape. “I just wanted some joy,” she told a reporter. "With the pandemic, just, everybody’s feeling a [...] The post White House Lawn Festooned […]

С чего начать? Как открыть ландшафтную студию с нуля. Сколько нужно первоначальных инвестиций? Финансовая модель. Как зарабатывать 4 000, 8 000 и 14 000 долларов в месяц чистыми. Выбираем перечень услуг. Нюансы специфики и […]

Many years ago, we visited a garden and found box clippings all over a path from the gardener’s hedge cutting. We piled them into a carrier bag, took them home and I made them into cuttings. Which eventually made us our own hedges. Miles of them. (well almost) The ex box hedges in winter, [...] The post Does Gardening cure Coronavirus Misery? appeared first on GardenRant.

Had enough of winter dreariness? Us too. Which is why we were overjoyed by the sophisticated kick of color on Remodelista this week. To wit: Plus: Kitchen of the Week: A Living-Room-Inspired Minimalist Kitchen in Stockholm 10 Easy Pieces: Simple Upholstered Beds Object of Desire: Heather Taylor Home Gingham Bedding Merchant House High Desert: A

From the GardenRant Archives This post from 2011 seems to foreshadow Anne Wareham joining GardenRant this year. In it, Amy described Anne "one of us.  She is opinionated, ill-tempered, witty, and slightly crazy." There’s a lot of hand-wringing going on in the publishing world right now.  The poor economy, the closure of many fine independent [...] The post The Bad-Tempered Gardener appeared […]