One of the decisions I have to make when groups visit Glen Villa is which way to go. Shall I to lead the group around the garden this way or that? In some gardens the choice is made for you. There is a set route that the garden maker or garden owner wants you to take. Or that…
A few weeks ago I posted the photo below on Facebook and asked for ideas about what to do with the trunk of an enormous pine tree that had pined away. Many people responded: make it into a table, or benches, a totem, planters, bird houses or toothpicks (hard to imagine how many…
Today it is grey and rainy but yesterday felt like spring. And how wonderful that was! Despite the soggy ground, covered in many places with deer pellets and dead leaves, I spent an hour or so wandering around the garden, enjoying the sunshine and the new growth that was popping up in every warm corner.…
Does your garden turn its face to the world or does it veil it off? The difference says a lot, about you and the style of your garden — and about the spirit of the times. Recently I spoke to several groups about how to get the most out of garden visits. Learning to Look: the Art…
Spring just won’t make up its mind. One day it cracks open the door, the next day, slams it shut. And I’m fed up! Come on, Spring, get a move on. Some years, snowdrops have finished by now. This year, they have barely started. In a normal spring, by now water would be splashing gaily…
It’s that super sweet time of the year, when sap is transformed into maple syrup. We’ve been making maple syrup at Glen Villa for many years now. My father-in-law tapped trees and the site of his old sugar camp is now an art installation in the woods. Making maple syrup takes time, particularly…
The Upper Room is as glorious in winter as it is in spring, summer and fall. The highlight in every season is the beautiful screen outlining the bare branches of a dogwood tree. Drawn by the Montreal artist Mary Martha Guy, the tree branches become more starkly striking with the late afternoon sun…
I’m happy to share some very good news — the Aqueduct at Glen Villa is the winner of the grand prize for design in the residential category at ADIQ, the Quebec industrial designers association. This prestigious prize recognizes the work of designer and friend Eric Fleury, of the landscape architecture firm, Hodgins and Associates…
It’s grey and nasty today and all I can think about is spring. I know it will come but its arrival seems a long way away. So instead of moaning, I’m dreaming of snowdrops … and crocus … and buds beginning to bloom. I’m dreaming of stretching out on the…
A piece about specimen trees in the on-line magazine Gardenista started me thinking about trees and how special they are to me. Having recently planted a long allée of crabapple trees at Glen Villa, (and having written about it here) where the impact stems from the sheer number of trees and the precision of their placement, my…