The Best of English Gardens 2015

I am pleased to announce that I will be returning to the UK this year to help lead a tour of English gardens May 12-21. I will be giving a North American perspective on how to incorporate ideas from the English gardening to members of the tour; a sort of 'color commentator' to compliment the excellent English tour guide. We will be visiting Great Dixter, Hidcote, Sissinghurst, Stourhead and Wisley among other gardens and attractions. The tour ends with The Chelsea Flower Show in London.

You can see the complete itinerary at The Best of English Gardens, 2015.  Discover Europe offers a  wide range of tours throughout Europe. For more information, see their website.

 The 2014 Best in Show Garden by Luciano Giubbilei

The Cottage Garden at Sissinghurst, the garden of poet/novelist Vita Sackville-West and her husband, historian Harold Nicolson

The Long Border at Great Dixter, the home and garden of the late plantsman, Christopher Lloyd, now run by his Head Gardener, Fergus Garrett.

An elegant lawn at Monttisfont Abbey

The Temple of Apollo through the trees at Stourhead Garden

A beautiful garden path at Kiftsgate Court Gardens

 One of the many focal points in a garden room at Hidcote Manor

Peterborough Parks: A Public/Private Partnership Talk

Tuesday I will be giving talk to to the Littleton, MA Garden Club on how the Peterborough Parks Committee creates and maintains the public gardens in Peterborough. I am excited to share my recipe for success, much of which I learned from Lynden B. Miller, who designs public gardens in New York City.

Here is part of the handout I will be giving the participants:

1) Design only what you can maintain at the highest level. Visit the best possible public and private gardens you can for inspiration. Make it gorgeous and keep it that way. Long-term maintenance is the key. Prepare soil properly from the onset.

2) Funding: start slow and show what you’ve done and grow. Keep trying to get grants even if you fail. Leverage success using volunteers to get public funding, public support and grants. Work toward a long-term endowment.

3) Mixed border works well for four-season beauty. Start with what it looks like in winter using hardscape and plants with winter interest (bark, berry, structure). Foliage is more important than flowers. Use the best and biggest plants you can get. Each park has its own mission statement or intention.

4) Set time and days so volunteers can incorporate time into their schedule. Have a specific plan for what needs to be accomplished each week.

5) Vandalism: Repair damage as soon as you see it!

“Make it gorgeous and they will come. Keep it that way and they will help.”

Lynden B. Miller

The Gardening Season Has Begun

The Parks volunteers had their first work day this week. We had a particularly tough New England winter: prolonged arctic temperatures and lots of snow. The soil on the north sides of the hedges at the Pavilion Garden was still frozen but were we able to do our first spring clean up. There was a minor amount of vole damage this year, probably due to the cold temperatures. It was good to remove the debris of dead leaves and create a clean slate for the emerging bulbs.

Susannah is raking the central path at the Pavilion Garden

Our newest volunteer, Kiki, had her first work day. She had great energy and has even promised to return next week.

Maude and Mollie are expert experienced gardeners. Maude has cleaned this garden for 15 seasons!

Still Winter in New Hampshire

I hiked Pack Monadnock this morning after a fresh snowfall. This is the view of Mount Monadnock at the summit. Springtime still feels a long way off here in New Hampshire......

The Citadel in Northern Haiti

I recently returned from Haiti where I participated in a mission to provide eye care  near the city of Cap Haitien. Our group took an R&R day and made an excursion to the Citadel, a fortress in the mountains of northern Haiti, a symbol of Haiti becoming the first black republic when African slaves gained their independance from the French in 1804.

The leader of Haiti at the time of the revolution, Jean-Jacques Dessallines, entrusted one of his generals, Henri Christophe, to build a network of fortresses to defend Haiti from the French. The Citadel was the most impressive fortress, taking 14 years to complete, and was constructed from local stone. Our guide informed us that a mixture of molasses, goat and cow blood, and cow hooves were used as mortar.

The citadel contains a series of cisterns and storehouses designed to provide a year's supply of food and water for up to 5,000 soldiers within its colossal walls. It boasts over 365 cannons imported from England and Spain. The fortress took 20,000 workers nearly 14 years to complete. Countless workers lost their lives during the construction. Interestingly, the French never returned to reclaim Haiti and the Citadel was never put to use to protect Haiti. The Citadel has survived numerous earthquakes and remains a symbol of liberty for all Haitians.

The Citadel as seen from our hotel atop the 3000 ft Bonnet a L'Eveque Mountain (the rectangular structure on right central peak).

Art on the High Line in March

Gorda Peak Hike

I recently returned from a vacation Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. In 1974,  Laurance Rockefeller donated approximately 250 acres of land which became Gorda Peak National Park. Gorda Peak is the highest point on Virgin Gorda at 1,370 ft. It is unique because it is one last remaining examples of Caribbean dry forest. There is a hiking trail to the peak, about a 30 minute walk. The vegetation varies with elevation: starting with dry scrub forest and becoming more moist as the elevation increases. At the top of the trail there is a lookout tower which has dramatic panorama views of the British Virgin Islands. There were many varieties of orchids and bromeliads along the trail. It was exciting to see tender plants that I use as annuals in their natural habitat.