Ode to the Peony
Invariably, when I ask friends their favorite flower, whether they are gardeners or not, the answer is always peonies. And, yesterday at a small lunch party, my male friend on… Read More
Design
Please Don’t Ask Which One I Love More
Long before we decided to build our home, I had an obsession with proper proportion and scale in architecture. And, as an extension of that, the accessories and garden furniture… Read More
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
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
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
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
English Hedges
While one might think of England as all about herbaceous flower borders, there is actually an entire design discipline that has made an art form of hedges. They seem to… Read More