Initial Thoughts

Boston’s Back Bay Townhouses Part 1

Two weeks ago I had the absolute pleasure of revisiting a city I had lived in and loved in the late 80s and early 90s…Boston. It was a glorious whirlwind…

The Boston Garden

A recent gathering of horticulturally-inclined friends gave me a welcome opportunity to return to a city I once called home…Boston. Our first full day of activities was my idea of…

Attention to Details, Part 2

There is great depth to the topic, “Attention to Details,” warranting a part two that focuses more on the garden than Parterre’s architecture. But what a pleasure it has been…

Attention to Details, Part 1

An Atlanta friend, noted landscape architect/designer, John Howard, came to town recently. Of course, I was in seventh heaven, with so many shared interests, spending an afternoon chattering away from…

Bonniecrest: Celebrating John Russell Pope

Let me say this up front…my heart is in this blog. Before building our home, Parterre, (1999), Jonathan and I resided in a condominium at the Waves, the former residence…

Creating a Floral Love Story

As with many years of my life in Newport, I have met and befriended a host of talented people through the Newport Flower Show. In 2019 I met Sandra Sigman,…

“Flora,” a New Culinary Destination for Newport

There’s always a good story in Newport! And our town’s new boutique waterfront hotel, Gardiner House, is handsomely wrapped in its homage to noted Newport painter Howard Gardiner Cushing and…

Parterre’s 25th Anniversary

As expected my “Oops! in the Garden” post garnered many comments… and the sharing of similar woes and challenges. Thank you all! But that post also prompted me to consider…

Summer ’24 Happenings

The “Newport Season” officially starts with the Newport Flower Show the third week in June…but really picks up momentum in July! So much so, that August, which used to be…

Oops! in the Garden

No surprise, this “confessional” is always a favorite blog… but I haven’t posted for a while because the oops were so dismal (like the Beech Leaf Disease attacking our beloved…