I’m not making any apologies for the, uh, shall we say the more “robust” nature of several plants in my garden. Plume poppy (Macleaya cordata) is certainly one of them. The exuberance of its architectural pizzazz is matched, or nearly so, by the plant’s tendency to travel. I’m not saying it’s invasive-I try to stay away from anything that spreads rampantly[...]
I’m one of those who believe the basic language of visual design applies to almost any topic or media. The ideas that make a successful garden vignette could also be employed to create a pleasing painting, a tempting textile, a beautiful building, or a fine photograph. There is a design language, and it does boast[...]
Structure, to me, is all important in garden making. Without it, a garden usually looks wimpy, mushy, and kind of inconsequential. There are exceptions, of course, but I’m just saying. Anyhow, I like using manufactured items from time to time, but feel as if the basic bones of a garden should come from its plants. So[...]
Sing it Carly! “Anticipation, anticipation/Is making me late/Is keeping me waiting.” Maybe Carly Simon was a horticulturist, because it strikes me lately that no one knows more about anticipation than a gardener. If you told me there’s any pursuit that is more about delayed gratification, about waiting for green dreams to be realized, about being just plain[...]
Hard to say if there’s any such thing as a foolproof garden design strategy, but the principle of repetition comes pretty darn close. The basic idea is simple: use something more than once. And when I say something, I really mean just about anything. You might use two or more of the same container, two or[...]