Gardening? Are you serious?

Maggie Smith has had some great lines in Downton Abbey as the inimitable Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham and she didn't disappoint us this past week in episode 3 of the third season.  The gardener in me loved a scene in this episode when the Dowager Countess sat down with her granddaughter, Lady Edith who, shortly after being jilted at the altar, was not at all sure what to do with the rest of her life:

Lady Edith:  There's nothing to do at the house, except when we entertain.

Dowager Countess:  There must be something you can put your mind to.

Lady Edith:  Like, what?  Gardening?

Dowager Countess:  Well, you can't be as desperate as that.

Maybe this explains why, as a gardener, I suffer from bouts of desperation. Nevertheless, even though the Dowager Countess couldn't begin to imagine her granddaughter's hands in the dirt, I'm sure that among those in service at Downton, she must have held the gardeners in fairly high regard.

Guest Blogger- Gordon Hayward

Woodcutters by Thomas Hart Benton, 1948

Firewood

When we bought our 200 year old farmhouse here in southern Vermont we knew we wanted to heat with wood. It was a New England tradition; it was cheaper than oil or propane; any house heated with wood seems to feel warmer than those heated by oil, electricity or propane; it felt like the right thing to do ecologically; and then there was simply the romance of the thing.  An old place like this deserves wood heat.

The Gardens of Mount Desert Island- Thuya Garden

The Thuya Garden, in Northeast Harbor, Maine, was created by landscape designer Charles K. Savage in 1958, shortly after he created nearby Asticou Azalea Garden (see this earlier post).  However, where Asticou Azalea Garden is styled after a Japanese stroll garden, Thuya has a completely different feel.  Here, Savage gave a nod to the English style of gardening when he created an artful blend of semi-formal herbaceous borders framed by native eastern woodlands.  Like Asticou, some of the impetus to create Thuya can be attributed to Savage's efforts to save a part of the collection of plants belonging to landscape architect, Beatrix Farrand when her Reef Point estate in Bar Harbor, Maine was dismantled in 1956. Many of the original trees and plants in Thuya today were purchased from Reef Point and when you walk through the garden you can feel the influence of Beatrix Farrand as well as Gertrude Jekyll, the English gardener she most admired.

Guest Blogger- Tovah Martin

Think Snow

All gardens are created equal under snow. A dusting doesn’t do it, but when we really get dumped on—hallelujah. Because there’s nothing between my garden and Juniper Hill that three feet of white fluffy stuff won’t obliterate.

Design Elements- Garden Hideaways

Do you wish for a special little hideaway in the garden where you can get away from it all?  A place where you can put down the trowel for a while, forget about the weeding, and simply settle in with a good book and a cup of tea.  If so, here are a few garden houses that perhaps will give you some inspiration to construct your very own.  And, if you already have your own special getaway spot in the garden, or have a favorite that you'd like to replicate someday, I would love to see photos!