A Country Christmas At The Harcourt’s

Our home was constructed in 1935. We know this because the date is carved in one of the slate shingles on the roof. By all accounts it was not a great time in the United States. Unemployment remained at 20% and the Great Depression would not begin to end for five more years. Despite the […]

Oriental Garden Update

The temperature today reached 87 degrees. It did not feel like Spring, rather like Summer. A week ago, I wore a light jacket, because it was a rainy week. The weather is unpredictable, especially this time of year. Still, it has been a glorious Spring. I have posted many photographs of flowers on my Instagram […]

Instagram Worthiness

The internet, or more precisely Instagram, will probably be my undoing. Posts by influencers and bloggers demonstrate many clever and interesting things. I waste hours looking at posts of the seeming ease of renovating French Chateaus and English manor houses, cake decorating, gardening and countless other worthwhile, but challenging occupations. For unknown reasons, I get […]

Gardening Backwards

Most gardening advisors will tell you to design your hardscape and then your plantings. I usual do this by putting in paths, building structures or walls and then plant around them. My latest garden is developing in the opposite manner. I have placed a few plants to see how they will grow and will then […]

Autumn Planting

Autumn has been spectacular in New York this year. Contrary to the opinion of many people who speculated the summer drought would leave the trees brown, they have instead displayed a rich palette of yellow, orange and red. The views, framed in the windows looking out of my home, are like impressionist paintings of vibrant […]

No. 1 Old Oak Tree Path

Welcome to No. 1 Old Oak Tree Path. The woodland garden is home to an elf, sometimes many elves. The elf’s name is Dobby. Fans of Harry Potter may recognize the name of the character from J. K.Rowling’s novels, where he was a house elf. A few years ago, my lovely goddaughter, Amy, and her […]

Repurposing Old Garage Doors

Last year, I had my old garage doors replaced. They were wooden and had seen better days. A ground hog had decided to visit one evening and thought it would be a comfortable place for an overnight stay. Unfortunately, his check out time did not coincide with when I would next be opening the garage […]

Making an Entrance

The most strenuous and difficult projects are often the most rewarding. I know this, but I still agonize over them. I wonder – what if I can’t complete the task or what if it doesn’t turn out the way I expected. Rarely am I satisfied with my work, so the later concern is always topmost […]

Travel in the Time of COVID, or How I Spent My Summer Vacation

After nearly three years of not getting on a plane and almost no travel, I went to Germany. When you put this into the context that I had some years where I was traveling at least 75% of each year, to not go anywhere was…..a luxury! A luxury I had some trepidation of giving up. […]