Reflecting on Gardens
Like many of us, I have found myself reflecting over the past two months about a health crises that no science-fiction writer could have scripted. Blessedly, chaos brings it owns… Read More
Author: Bettie Bearden Pardee
Almost an Oops! In the Garden
Here comes my annual salute to the real Parterre, the behind-the-scenes realities that few visitors think about. Given this provoctive, tell-all title, this is always a readers’ favorite (no surprise).… Read More
Welcoming the Tulips!
There’s a wonderful overlap in my garden that happens about this point in the spring…as the four flowering cherries finish their magical bloom time, glorious tulips start popping up in… Read More
Paris, Thanks for the Memories!
The events of the last 3 months have given a new meaning and vividness to the memories we each hold dear — almost as though a bright celestial light has… Read More
The Centerpiece of Parterre Garden
If there can be a silver lining to having had some glorious trips cancelled this spring it is that I am here, in Newport, to see my two beloved matched… Read More
Faux and Behold: The Dovecote at Parterre
A dear reader left a lovely comment on last week’s post asking about “the charming cylindrical shaped structure with the conical roof at the corner of the hedge.” She could… Read More
Through the Garden Gate
Humor is such an important antidote to this “journey” we all find ourselves on. And I had to look no further than my own garden and the pair of frogs… Read More
New Beginnings at Parterre
Easter and new beginnings are taking on a special meaning at Parterre this year. Only a very few times in the twenty years that we’ve lived here have I ever… Read More
Private Newport, Home at Seafair
“Home” has never meant as much as it does now (as we self-quarantine) or carried as much significance as a place of refuge in troubling times. With two coffee table… Read More
Topiaries, Whimsy in the Making
Last week I posted about a very favorite topic for this gardener, hedges. And what’s the natural follow-on? Topiaries, the next step in a hedges artistic evolution.The art of training,… Read More