A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to visit a garden in the small village of North Hatley, Quebec, where I live, to see the work of garden makers Jane Meagher and Jean Vanaise. Here, over about ten years, they have transformed a one-acre town lot into a lushly varied garden. The transformation began when they decided…
In Transit/En Route is part of Timelines, the trail at Glen Villa that explores ideas about time, memory and our relationship to the land. Dating back to 2009, it was one of the first sections of Timelines I built and was an inspiration for all that followed. Over the intervening years, In Transit/En Route has undergone many changes,…
The Upper Room is the memorial I created to remember and honour my mother. Designed to reflect the things most important to her — her family, her religious beliefs and her dedication to Virginia and its institutions — the Upper Room is a small formal area set amidst a natural forest on a hillside above…
Last week I wrote about the genesis of the North South Arrow, the new area we are planting at Glen Villa, describing how the concept for the area changed over time. Today I’m writing about the plants I chose and how I decided to arrange them. Jacques had warned me that the soil on site…
Months ago, when we were rebuilding the foundation wall of Glen Villa Inn, the huge resort hotel that once stood on our property, I began thinking of a new planting area to complement the new wall. A photo taken shortly after the hotel burned down in 1909 showed plants arranged around the low stone wall…
On the weekend, my heart was dancing with Wordsworthian glee. There weren’t ten thousand daffodils in bloom but there were far more than I wanted to count. For the last umpteen years, we’ve been planting daffodils on the berm above the Skating Pond. I’ve never ordered single varieties, always choosing instead to use…
Last week I advised myself not to set overly ambitious garden goals for 2020. I must have been under the weather. This week, I’m back to normal, aiming to accomplish most of the goals I set myself even while acknowledging that doing that will mostly likely be impossible. Although I set six goals for the year, I made…
After a month-long break from blogging, I’m back writing and thinking about my garden goals for 2020. And I’m giving myself some stern advice. Don’t try to do too much! Was I crazy to set myself six big goals for 2020? Clearly the answer is yes. Already I can see that completing two of those goals is next…
If I’m to have any chance of doing all I hope to do in the garden in 2020, I need to do more than set goals. I need to plan and schedule, something I’m not terribly good at. Plus it’s likely that other projects will come up unexpectedly. So I won’t know for sure until this time next…
Today, on the last day of the year, I’m looking back at what happened in the garden in 2019. Without question, the single biggest event was the Open Garden Day in July. Over 300 people attended and we raised almost $10,000 for the Massawippi Foundation, helping that organization to continue its support for community activities and…