Serenity in the Garden

Its Halloween!...and you plan to carve the Jack O'Lantern TONIGHT...triangle eyes, triangle nose.....yawn..... What you need is some inspiration! You can find it at the Van Cortlandt Manor located in  my little village of Croton-on-Hudson because we have what must be the world's largest display of carved Jack O'Lanterns...it is called the  Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze . Why do we have such a thing?  Well, Croton is in 'Sleepy Hollow Country' and Sleepy Hollow is the home of the Headless Horseman. It is right down the road from us.  (And he rides through the countryside every Halloween)....thus, we are a natural for Jack O'Lanterns..... That is my opinion as to the reason why we hold it although the website  Things You Should Do  says this: "Blaze’s creative director, Michael Natiello, said the true inspiration for Blaze is the landscape of Van Cortlandt Manor itself.  The event is really a land art instal...

ALERT!   Only 7 more days until the  fabulous Dale Chihuly exhibit at NY Botanical Garden closes : Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.  CHIHULY Nights: Every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday through October 2017, plus Wednesday, October 25,  and  Sunday, October 29; 6:30–10:30 p.m.  RESERVE NOW:   https://www.nybg.org/visit/admission/ in the day, as you walk around, you might find this.... This is your last chance to see the immensely popular show - by day or night. I suggest you start in early evening and watch as the darkness brings out the glass sculptures in a way nothing else can. It features 20 installations! In the spotlights, the plants seem to dance along with the art.... That is what I did with my family visiting from Florida. We entered, visited the phenomenal bookstore ( another must for garden lovers) and then walked  the grounds  in the late afternoon light. The sweeping vistas and art co...

Kim Wilkie - Boughton House Kim Wilkie is one of my favorite landscape artists. Hailing from England,  he studied at Oxford University where he discovered that there was such a thing as ‘landscape architecture’ in his last year of pursuing a history degree . Kim Wilkie Wilkie says discovering this profession “came as a thunderbolt…” and his captivating book, Led by the Land (Frances Lincoln Limited, © 2012) , reminds us that landscape design delves as deeply into our psyche as any other of the arts. Led by the Land   I saw Wilkie speak at New York Botanical Garden a few years ago.   I learned then that he is a man of deep thoughts with a solid terrestrial connection.  From the elliptical pool that he designed for the Victoria & Albert museum to his grass amphitheater divided by a zig zag path at The Holt , Wilkie exhibits a contemporary sensibility using earthwork, shape and line as his palette. His symbolic landsca...

Do you know about  New England GROWS ?  It is the largest and most popular horticulture event in the Northeast.   It is a great place to go to connect with  other nursery, landscape and tree professionals and find out the latest in the garden and landscape world. who attends?   Landscape Contractors Landscape Architects Landscape Designers Commercial Arborists Lawn Care Operators Hardscape Contractors Greenhouse Growers Garden Centers Groundskeepers Nursery Growers Irrigation Contractors Horticulturists Golf Course Superintendents Tree Wardens Park & Recreation Managers Property Managers Sports Turf Managers Utility & Line Clearance Arborists Municipal Personnel / DPW Plant Health Care Technicians Educators Students ...and more! They also have top experts speaking - see their exciting roster of speakers!  And leading suppliers from across the country and around the world will be displaying their good. ...