For years I admired my neighbor's fountain. I didn't know them. They lived on the next block but I passed their house often and loved their cement fountain. It sat beneath their front windows, near the entryway. I often imagined how lovely it must sound and wondered what birds sipped from it. If I had the money, I knew just where I'd put it in my garden. When I discovered the same fountain for sale at a local garden center and saw the price tag, a whopping $550, I knew it was going to be a while before I could justify the splurge. Or would it? A "For Sale" sign went up on their front lawn. Days later, a "Garage Sale" sign followed and plastic flag bunting was strewn above the driveway. Among the menagerie of household goods sat the fountain and I slammed on the brakes. Thank God no one ...
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Raised Bed Garden Glow Up Part 1: Pre-Stain Prep
Absence has definitely made my heart grow fonder and deeply aware that a garden glow-up is in order. It's not that I've lost the love for my garden, namely the raised bed vegetable garden, I've just been away from it and it's painfully obvious. From the weed covered area around the beds to the quagmire of random vegetables spilling out and everywhere, the vegetable garden reflects the year we've had. Stressful and reactive. I planted the tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and tomatillos, and that's about all I did. Somehow, things grew and I had a decent harvest which makes me wonder just how important the gardener is to the garden. As a sidenote, many of my just-blushing tomatoes have a single bite in them, courtesy of the growing population of chipmunks in the garden. Add that to the ...
From the Biltmore Estate, With Love
Every year, I plan a budget friendly road trip that appeals to the whole family. It's not easy when you're traveling with two teens. But we got lucky. The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, had something for everyone. I wanted gardens. My husband wanted trains. And the girls just wanted to be somewhere other than Illinois. By the end of the Biltmore experience, we all were blown away. You can't grasp the enormity of the place until you pass the entry gate. It was then that I realized we had entered a different world. One where the roads are lined with an impenetrable bamboo thicket and the forest leading up to the estate is pristine and full of enormous trees. Even the small stone bridges were worth admiring. So much care and thought had been put into this very grand, but incredibly ...
10 Tough Plants for Dry Shade
I have a love/hate relationship with dry shade. Love for the leaf textures that make the space interesting, hate for the time it's taken me to discover what works in this most challenging of garden situations. I've killed a lot of stuff in my search for plants that can tough it out without much coddling. No fancy irrigation systems here. Just me and a hose. Fifteen years ago, the southeast corner of our backyard was a soupy mess after every rainfall and consistently damp throughout the rest of the growing season. The lots in our neighborhood are arranged on slopes and each home has a sump pump that empties into the closest sewer which happens to be in our backyard. After living with the situation for five years (I was busy chasing toddlers), I decided to plant trees that could help us ...
An Urban Backyard Reimagined
One of the perks of my job is receiving permission from homeowners, many of whom I've never met, to poke around in their gardens. I imagine it's a lot like getting a backstage pass to a concert. The thrill is real because I have absolutely no idea what I'll find. I get a little giddy actually and, when a stunning landscape reveals itself, a little choked-up by the beauty of it all. When I walk into a magical place, a space that transports me into another world, well that's pretty cool. And the thing about it is, it doesn't have to be an enormous landscape to elicit an emotional response. I've found that the most memorable spaces are the small intimate ones that make you feel like Mother Nature has enveloped you in her protective embrace. Like the one you're about to experience. I was ...
