GardenDesignOnline

On Vacation

A lot of my readers seem to be on vacation ... and since I'm in need of one, I'm taking off a few weeks to clear my head, re-focus my design work and writing, and visit some new gardens before the tour season ends.  I'll be back in early September.  In the meantime, please do look around the site and discover some old post. 

Here are a few of your favorites from this year:

Garden Design Trends 2011

Conifer Paradise

New Plants 2011 - III

Garden Design: A Garden to Live In

Garden Sculptures for the Modern Age

 

 

 

Reclaiming Vacant Lots & Monet's Garden

A couple of notable articles recently in the New York Times ...

First, I'd never heard of the Urban Long-Term Research Areas (ULTRAs), or of Ultra-Ex, a program to document the possible benefits of vacant lots in the old industrial cities like Detroit, Philiadelphia, and Cleveland that have lost a lot of population.  This photo is from the Philly Revelopment Authority, showing the transformation of a blighted lot into one with crops and chickens.  Projects like these are happening all over the country, and you can read the entire story here.

 

And, can it really be?

A British gardener in charge of Monet's Garden? Yes indeed, James Priest has recently taken over as head gardener at Giverny, and he says his mission is to make the garden a little more authentic .. as Monet himself would have intended.  Read the entire article here.