Gardening and Gardens

Last week, I was lucky enough to attend the Garden Bloggers Fling in Seattle, WA. Although many garden bloggers have been meeting in various cities for the past four years, this was my first time attending. It was wonderful to put faces to the blogs I read and to meet garden bloggers from all over the country - some blog for fun, some for professional reasons, some are garden book writers, some are photographers and some have jobs completely unrelated to gardening. But the common thread was the love of gardening, horticulture and landscape design. Each of the four days was carefully planned by the Fling organizers so that we were able to see both private and public gardens in the Seattle area. I am excited to share with you my photos of the trip, but for the sake of space, I will divide the blog posts into sections. So be sure to come back to read it all! Here are some of my personal favorites from the private gardens we visited: Garden #1: Tucker Garden Shelagh Tucker spe...

The fourth and final house on the Garden Tour along Long Island's Gold Coast was in Oyster Bay Cove, NY. The home on this property was originally built for Thomas F. Young, a colonial merchant in 1863. It was later owned by Charles Lewis Tiffany II, son of Louis Comfort Tiffany. The Colonial Revival home is beautiful in its own right, but the five acres of property are stunning. The pool garden is green and simple with lawn, a Japanese holly hedge and a natural stonewall dividing it from the cutting garden. Above, the view of the pool from the covered patio.  Overlooking the pool, this patio is the perfect place to relax out of the sun and enjoy a glass of lemonade. Behind the couch and chairs is a small kitchenette, cabinet space and a small table. To the left of the pool, the stonewall fence is planted with Nepeta (Catmint) and Rosa 'Carefree Wonder.' Behind it is the cutting garden. The cutting garden (above) is planted with all sorts of beautiful flo...

Located in Bayville, NY, this garden was the third house on the Garden Tour along Long Island's Gold Coast. In 1974, the homeowner purchased this house and has done much of the gardening herself. I loved the beds around the trees in the front yard, surrounded by the stonework. The homeowner always had a soft spot for lilies and over the years has added to her collection. Today, she is a member of the American Day Lily Society and has well over 1,000 varieties of lilies in her garden, each labeled with the name of the lily as well as the year it was hybridized. The house has the distinction of being an official "Display Garden of the American Hemerocallis Society." Unfortunately, on the day of the tour, the gardens were not in bloom. She had a large photograph on display for visitors to see her garden in all its glory. **Update!** The homeowner invited everyone from the tour back to her house this week to view her lilies in full bloom. And it was wo...