Timing, as they say, is everything in life…especially when it comes to gardens. A lovely invitation to speak at the Fort Worth Garden Center gave me the opportunity to enjoy… Read More
There are more carriage and gate houses in Newport than I had ever imagined, so here is part 2 as a wrap-up to my summer post on the subject. I… Read More
I received so many comments and compelling anecdotes on my original post on Newport house names that I couldn’t resist penning part two. So here we go, taking another look… Read More
In my first book, Private Newport: At Home and in the Garden (2004), I shared that I am first a tree lover, then a gardener, and hinted at a little… Read More
Beaulieu is a very distinguished house. Dating from 1862, it is one of the oldest homes still in private hands on Bellevue Avenue, and its grounds remain just as the… Read More
They are charming, they are quirky, they recall romantic days gone by. Newport’s carriage houses and gate houses were very relevant to another era’s lifestyle. Their presence, while sometimes overlooked… Read More
We love our friends for many reasons, but when their sensibilities incline towards preservation I cherish them even more. Eighteen years ago a childhood friend purchased one of the first… Read More
Daffodils signal spring — bringing us out of the winter doldrums with their cheery yellow faces and swaying forms. Even Wm. Wordsworth was smitten, penning his now beloved verse —… Read More
The past four months have been a glorious blur of travel — revisiting favorite sights, chancing upon design inspirations in the most unlikely places, taking a fresh look at things… Read More
A mutual friend described Terry Rakolta’s garden as her fifth child. Versions of that well describe many of us who are passionate, dedicated lovers of our “plots of green.” Little… Read More