Spring is season of promise. Cherry trees and magnolias are in full bloom, baby lambs and goats frolic in green pastures, and our favorite spring bulbs put on their annual display in a rainbow of colors. I recently enjoyed a visit to a client's garden that was a true delight with hundreds of daffodils, species…

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Funnily enough, no-one has ever asked me to design a high maintenance garden, yet there is a common misconception that low maintenance translates to an endless row of boxwood or a border entirely devoted to rhododendrons. While these may be easy care they certainly won’t win any design awards. Yet evergreen trees and shrubs are…

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Yes I know you're thinking of summer annuals and fragrant roses. It's almost June! Yet now is the time to plan for the best ever fall display; in about three years time! Let me tell you about why Arkansas blue star (Amsonia hubrichtii) is the best perennial I've ever grown. (Hint: it's not about the…

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Perennial Border, Bellevue Botanical Garden

This is the time of year when we would usually be out and about visiting gardens large and small, public and private. Yet even as travel restrictions are slowly being eased around the world, most gardening events have been canceled and the majority of public gardens are still closed. I personally had been looking forward…

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Do you walk through your garden each day? What do you see? I took a leisurely stroll along our quiet country lanes a few days ago and was amazed what a difference just a few days had made. Last week there were fat, tantalizing buds filled with promise, yet the overall palette was still mostly…

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