Judith’s garden: Graceful grasses

When we think about creating a beautiful garden, most often it is the flowers that we think about first. But great gardens are much more than lots of pretty blossoms! Especially important is the way we incorporate different kinds of contrast into our gardens. Contrast is the secret design ingredient. This starts out with a ground plan that includes a thoughtful mix of sunny areas and shady areas, as well as a compelling interplay of positive spaces (primarily the planted areas but also hardscape) versus neg … (read more)

June is peony time!  With their massive blooms in shades of red, pink, white and yellow, peonies — one of the most beautiful and venerated garden plants — are taking center stage in our Vermont gardens. For a match made in heaven, try combining them with … (read more)

And right now, spring — that most fleeting of seasons — is working its magic in Vermont.  All around in gardens everywhere, we see the thousands of cheery yellow daffodils spreading their message of hope.  I would also like to tell you about two delightfu … (read more)

For me the mention of “spring cleaning” awakens early memories of my childhood in England where it was considered an essential ritual to both clean one’s house and also to tidy up one’s life.  Every April my mother would diligently take down every curtain … (read more)

Spring comes slowly in Vermont and it always seems a tad fickle. Just this morning, as I write this during the last week of March, I once again donned my snowshoes and took a solitary walk in the woods accompanied by Ingrid, my ever-faithful canine compan … (read more)

Right now I have my usual case of cabin fever, which hits most of us at this time of year. Even with a healthy dose of winter snowshoeing, by the time March rolls around I always find myself yearning to get out in the garden.  According to Wikipedia cabin … (read more)

GOSHEN — Feb. 2 — Groundhog Day — has come and gone, meaning that we have passed the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. And certainly the days are noticeably longer — a sure sign that spring is on its way. Actually in South … (read more)

We all love the flowers we grow in our gardens — an ever-changing palette from spring to fall — and by contrast, the stark beauty of winter.  But birds and butterflies add their own ephemeral magic to our gardens — they are like the icing on the cake.  Fo … (read more)

It is a delightful mid-August afternoon as I sit in our gazebo encircled by my garden. Unsurprisingly, as I glance around, my eye is initially drawn to the exuberant sun-filled borders full of colorful summer flowers — clusters of lacy pink yarrow backed … (read more)

This Sunday, Aug. 4, from 1-4 p.m., Judith and Dick will open their garden at 423 Goshen Ripton Road in Goshen to interested readers (weather permitting). If you have questions email Judith at [email protected]. The “dog days” of summer are here. And … (read more)

Every summer crowds of visitors flock to Maine’s Mount Desert Island to hike the beautiful windswept hills of Acadia National Park and enjoy the bustling seaside town of Bar Harbor. But few are aware that, only 10 miles along the coast from Bar Harbor in … (read more)