Search Results for: label/great gardens

Powerscourt Gardens, Ireland

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…a Metallica concert in Dublin, my husband and I enjoyed a peaceful afternoon at Powerscourt Gardens about 30 minutes away. This magnificent estate is nestled in the Wicklow Mountains just south of Dublin and dates back to the 12th century. I find inspiration in estate gardens and appreciate the design and engineering required to envision and construct them. At Powerscourt, the designers used Sugar Loaf Mountain as the focal point from the upper t…

Meet a Garden Crusader

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Take a slideshow tour through the garden of Vicki Nowicki, one of the 2009 Garden Crusaders. Her garden is in Downer’s Grove, IL Vicki (right) and I in her garden. This past August, I had the great pleasure of spending a whole day with one of this year’s Garden Crusader award winners: Vicki Nowicki. It was exciting to visit her home just outside Chicago — ground zero for the sustainable landscaping business she runs with h…

Nothing Like a Blue Flower

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Photo Contest winners offer inspiration to winter-weary gardeners. Himalayan blue poppy by Ann S. of Southworth, WA: “I took it with a Nikon D50, a digital SLR. The shady location, and the often gloomy weather we have here, seems to work well for shooting plants.” Take a look at the full-size photo or See more photos from the 2008 Dutch Gardens Photo Contest. In the middle of winter, this gardener’s heart longs for flow…

Miniature Cutting Gardens

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If you can grow vegetables in less space, what about flowers? Our new cutting garden plans show you how it can be done. During the summer months, we like to keep a fresh bouquet of flowers in our reception area. I cut this bouquet from one of our two cutting gardens and just plunked it into a vase. No flower-arranging skills required! I planted the beds in early May, using the wooden planting grid from our Square Foot Garden Kit to mea…

Bressingham Gardens

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…tely, one of Alan’s sons, Adrian Bloom, is a renowned plantsman himself. While Alan continued working on his Dell Garden, Adrian began planting gardens around his own home next door. At the time of Alan’s death in 2005, the two adjoining gardens covered a total of 12 acres. Adrian has developed dozens of superior perennials, many of which have a horticultural heritage in North America and he has made them available through the family…

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What to Do With Horticultural Plastic

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…. Cline, former director of the Garden’s Kemper Center for Home Gardening, started the program in 1998. The botanical garden’s Pots to Planks program sells 6″ x 6″ timbers made from ground-up pots (No. 2 and No. 5 plastics). The rigid, heavy timbers are great for raised beds and strong enough to use for retaining walls. “They are fantastic,” Cline says. “It’s a lot of plastic in one product, but we&…

Make a Grand Entrance

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…e at your side who is ooh-ing and ahh-ing as much as you are! One of the gardens we loved best was Great Dixter, home of the late Christopher Lloyd. At the very heart of the gardens is Christopher Lloyd’s family home, a 15th century half-timber house that’s ever-so-gently slouching into the landscape. The house is entered through a covered portico that’s always flanked with an incredible assortment of fabulous potted plants. Ins…

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Saved! A Front Yard Vegetable Garden in Quebec

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…elp and encourage other vegetable gardeners, sharing their story and as much gardening advice as they can. Broadcaster Mélanie Grégoire visited Josée and Michel during their “bed-in” protest which was held on July 22. Their protest was meant to be resminiscent of the “Bed-Ins for Peace” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969. Photo: Samuel Gaudreau This year, they’re expanding the garden, adding one more raised bed. The…

Day Trip to the Tropics

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After the challenges of the holiday season, I want a vacation. A collection of bromeliads, tillandsias, and aroids at the Montreal Botanic Gardens conservatory. After the challenges of the holiday season, I want a vacation. The wintery landscape outside my window has me dreaming of warm, sultry breezes, sand between my toes, and lush tropical plants. A trip to the tropics isn’t in the budget, but I’ve got some great alternatives to rejuv…