Design in Bloom
Veggies by Design
If Aphrodite visited your vegetable garden, what do you think her reaction would be?
Design in Bloom
Design in Bloom
The Grass is Always Greener: Part Two
You may remember that last fall we started a discussion about lawns: their past, their present, and their future. We talked about what types of turf grasses work well for various situations and covered the debate regarding sod vs. seed. Just in case you missed it, the article is available […]
Design in Bloom
Beauty, Versatility & Romance
Name this plant. You can wash with it, use it as perfume, drink it, and then use it to help you sleep.
Design in Bloom
Cape May’s Public Garden?
It’s that time of year. No, not Christmas, the time of year when some of us are chomping at the bit for any sign of spring. We’ve scoured the catalogs, designed our summer gardens and planned our annual pilgrimage to the Philadelphia Flower Show—now what? How about a trip to […]
Design in Bloom
Secrets for Spring Success
About five years ago I wrote an article about what not to do to get your landscape ready for winter. As I continue to talk to people and make observations, I decided that a few of those things bear repeating. In addition, there are proactive things you should do before […]
Design in Bloom
The Grass is Always Greener
Did you know that lawn is the largest crop in America? It is estimated that turf grass covers approximately 1.6% of the surface area of the entire country—more than 62,500 square miles. That is an area larger than Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut combined! What’s disturbing is that we spend […]
Design in Bloom
Hosta la Vista
When we think of perennials, we most often picture lovely flowers, even though they may only bloom for a few weeks each year. Rarely are they grown primarily for their foliage—except for hostas. Loved by many, they are consistently voted a gardener’s favorite perennial. Hostas have come a long way […]
Design in Bloom
1069 Michigan Avenue: The Saga Continues…
A lot has happened and unfortunately not happened since we wrote about the renovation of 1069 Michigan Avenue in the fall of 2022. I can’t believe I purchased this property more than five years ago and it still has issues. Last spring I talked about problems with drainage, the pool, […]
Design in Bloom
A Matter of Principles
The best gardens don’t just happen by accident. They are carefully and systematically designed and thought out. When you visit one, you immediately recognize the difference. Many gardeners never have a plan. They buy what appeals to them but what they end up with is simply a collection of plants. […]
Design in Bloom
The Magic and Mayhem of Winter
As a plant person, I never look forward to winter. No leaves, no flowers, and cold temperatures that keep me locked up inside the house. But the truth is we need winter if we are going to enjoy a beautiful spring. We think things are dead—or at least dormant—for months, […]
Design in Bloom
1069 Michigan Avenue Landscaping: The Grounds (Part Three)
And finally, we come to the end of our saga. As of the writing of this article, we have “finished” the gardens at 1069. Hallelujah! Well, as finished as any garden ever is. We all know that gardens, by definition, are a work in progress. After all, they are living […]
Design in Bloom
1069 Michigan Avenue: The Grounds (Part Two)
Designing for myself is an impossible task, especially for this house. This is supposed to be the last house I will build—in other words, my forever garden. We’ll see about that. However, that fact created tremendous pressure to get it right, especially considering this property is one quarter the size […]
Design in Bloom
1069 Michigan Avenue: The Grounds (Part One)
A Dream that Almost Turned into a Nightmare My grandmother used to say, “Nothing worth doing is easy.” If you have been following the saga that is 1069 Michigan Avenue, you know she was right. Renovating the building was a project that had been estimated to take six months but […]
Design in Bloom
Pretty Potagers
The latest reports say that up to 35% of U.S. households are now growing something edible. I find that hard to believe, but what we know for sure is that vegetable gardens are experiencing a revival. Perhaps it’s a natural extension of the Farm to Table movement or maybe it […]
Design in Bloom
Narcissomania
She wore her yellow sun-bonnet,She wore her greenest gown;She turned to the south windAnd curtsied up and down.She turned to the sunlightAnd shook her yellow head,And whispered to her neighbor:“Winter is dead.” A. A. Milne I fell in love with daffodils when I first started to come to Cape May […]
Design in Bloom
A Designer’s Love Affair with Trees
Without question, everyone appreciates a tree! I also suspect that everyone has a memory that is associated with a tree. Whether that memory is climbing one, a rope swing hung from a branch, enjoying a picnic in the shade of a tree or—dare I say—perhaps your first kiss or a […]
Design in Bloom
Marbled, Speckled, and Splashed
Because it was originally known as a painted leaf flower, you might think the word poinsettia is the botanical name of this impressive species. However, its scientific name is Euphorbia pulcherrima- and you thought poinsettia was hard to say! Its common name comes from the man who is credited with […]
Design in Bloom
Gardening with Ornamental Grasses
The New Wave Comes Ashore Over the past 50 years, ornamental grasses have slowly been gaining favor among gardeners. I was first smitten with this group of plants as a child, long before I began to seriously study landscape design in the early 1980’s. As a beginning gardener, I was […]
Design in Bloom, Home & Garden
Design in Bloom
What’s New in ’22 Top left – Amazing Daisies® ‘Marshmallow’ Shasta DaisyBottom left – Blue My Mind® XL Dwarf Morning GloryBottom middle -Little Lime Punch® Panicle HydrangeaBottom right – Be My® Main Squeeze™ Calla Lily Photos courtesy of Proven Winners When I embarked upon writing this article, I did some […]
Design in Bloom
Finding holiday greenery in your own backyard
Decorating with greenery is one of the oldest holiday traditions on Earth, but in the northern United States, it didn’t become commonplace until the 1800s. Not surprisingly, varieties of greenery used varied by region. Today, the materials available, either at your local garden center or on the internet are seemingly […]