Living and gardening in an older Hudson Valley home
Plant friends are the best. Plant friends listen to you carry on about your garden and plants, they give you extra plants from their garden, they share their secrets, and they tell you your garden is beautiful – even when it looks more like a semi-organized patch of weeds. When I moved to Newburgh in […]
Seeing other people’s gardens and speaking with them about their gardening experience is satisfying and rewarding. On June 24, 2023, Andrew and I organized a garden tour. We hosted a brunch for 12 people at our house, followed by a tour of our yard. Here are a few photos of the gardens we toured. We […]
Last week, I had the pleasure of being in London for my Goddaughter’s graduation from high school. It was a brilliantly triumphant day for her, celebrated in a beautiful venue across from Westminster Abbey. I was very honored to be invited. She graduated from the American School in London. A tony school located in St. […]
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 […]
In Winter my projects are usually focused indoors. Once Spring starts my attention shifts to the outdoors and indoor activities are given second place. This past Winter, I embarked on a project that spilled into my Spring schedule. The wall space on either side of the fireplace was empty. Over the past several years, I […]
After watching the Netflix series Sky Castle and The Glory, I was in an Asian appreciation mood. Korean drama, also known as KDrama, is exceptionally well acted and written. Some people binge watch television programs. I savor them and spread them out, watching one episode per evening. Thus the 20 episodes of Sky Castle and […]
Winter is so much bleaker than the rest of the year. In Spring and Summer, flowers are lovely and make for wonderful photographs. There are new projects outside to write about and photograph. In Winter, the landscape is barren and largely gray. A dear friend of mine, Tim, commented the other day, that it was […]
This may look like any other tree decorated with Christmas lights, but it represents much more. A few months ago, my neighbor approached me about decorating a 4o foot Canadian Hemlock tree in my yard with Christmas lights. She would buy the lights and have them installed, if she could use my tree. I immediately […]
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 […]
Names are arbitrary and this is certainly true for the names we use to describe areas in our yard. With so many different areas it is helpful to have distinct names so that Andrew and I can more easily discuss them. Naming each area provides us with an ability to be creative and in some […]
