Gardening Archives | Nora Murphy Country House

Being homebound, I’m gazing at the gardens outside our windows that are ever so slowly coming back to life. This is what I look forward to each year. But this year, with all that we are dealing with, these gardens mean more to me than they ever have before. They represent life, as well as…

Potted spring flowers + basket with liner + moss + twigs = A beautiful spring garden basket! WFSB’s Better Connecticut co-host, Scot Haney, and I whip up a gorgeous (if we must say so ourselves!) spring basket that’s perfect for giving or keeping as a statement piece. It is super easy. And the bonus to…

Have you ever considered growing currants? I never did, until a few years ago, by chance, I came upon a small currant shrub at my local nursery. Along with varieties of raspberries, I decided to take a blind leap of faith and give it a go. Happily I can state that this shrub is probably…

Summer…it’s here! And with it brings good growing, fresh garden to table eats, and late into the evening campfire gatherings. Life’s lived outdoors, and what living we do indoors now is scaled way back. Summer’s a time for keeping it simple, and clearing out what’s not working any longer (indoors and out). Minimalism and freshness abound!…

When Tracy Furey, the Executive Producer of WFSB’s Better Connecticut, asked me about pruning a hydrangea shrub for an upcoming segment, little did I realize that once our sharp pruners were out, there was no stopping us! Being the great sport that he is, Scot Haney (co-host of Better Connecticut) joined me at Connecticut Country…

Dear friends! Our Spring/Summer Nora Murphy Country House Garden Issue is here! Inspired by my crazy passion for flowers I’ll take you for a tour around my country house to introduce you to my favorite garden plants and share my best gardening tips. Then, we’ll sail to the island of Nantucket, where I hope to…

So what’s a Trillium you may ask? Known for their delicate beauty, trilliums are woodland plants prized by both gardeners and nature lovers—in part because even in the wild it takes four to seven years(!) for the plants to reach flowering age. The New England Wild Flower Society celebrates the beauty of 21 species of trilliums…

What an exciting week! My upcoming book, Nora Murphy Country House Style – Making Your Home A Country House, published by Vendome Press, and to be released in September, debuted on Amazon as the #1 Interior Design book! To say you could have knocked me over with a feather is truly an understatement. This book…

Inspired by weathered wood, baskets, concrete planters, clay pots, galvanized and painted wood buckets all have a couple things in common: They make great containers for planting and cut flowers, and their tints of grey work effortlessly as a beautiful soft neutral in any interior. Even when a stalky flowering plant needs staking, I use…

All seasons, my style and decorating starts at my doors. Better Connecticut’s Scot Haney stopped by Connecticut Country House to ‘talk fall door decor’ and help me put the finishing touches on both of my front doors (for the 1767 part of the house, and the 1857 Chicken Coop – our Master Bedroom). I always…

My very favorite hostess gift is a big or small cut mixed bouquet of flowers, herbs, and greens from my perennial gardens. Depending on the season, and the host’s or hostess’s personality, and of course, what’s blooming or thriving determine’s what I put together, and using a simple glass cylinder works for all. Stocking up on…

Petunias are my perennial favorite. This sweet and simple annual is a must-have at Connecticut Country House. I love their delicate flowers and bold, brilliant colors. They’re pretty when tiny and potted up individually, as well as one big petunia hanging basket from my local nursery that I’ll pop into an over-scaled clay pot. But…

A couple of weeks ago, Kara Sundlun, the co-host of WFSB’s Better Connecticut came to Connecticut Country House for the very first time. Decorated for a summer party, the house was in its glory…what a perfect occasion to host Kara and give her a tour of my favorite summertime decorating tips around the house, inside…

It never fails. Every time I’m on Nantucket, it’s the window boxes that always grab my attention. I love the mix of colors, textures, and types of plants all mixed together in combinations that I would never have thought of. These thoughtfully composed container gardens are just another way the architecture, gardens, and summer season…

I started the Nora Murphy Country House emagazine for 1 simple reason…my “blog shoes” were too tight. I loved my little blog, Connecticut Country House, but in the state it was in, it was limiting in telling and showing my stories. So I had a vision of what I wanted it to be. Something really…

Better Connecticut’s Scot Haney is back in the garden with me at Connecticut Country House in my beloved Newtown. I’m sharing some of my best ideas for the garden and explore the simple “power of green” found in shrubs. First, evergreens build a balanced, low maintenance foundation to my home, which last throughout the year.…

Scot Haney of WFSB’s Better Connecticut joined me in the garden at Connecticut Country House for some spring cleaning. I explained the importance of cleaning your garden beds in the spring; trying to remove as much debris as possible while not disturbing the new growth. Up next was pruning shrubs to keep them healthy and…

Gardens are living things, constantly changing and growing. I see my gardens as part of my home, and I treat them that way. I know in my heart, that if I give my best to them, they’ll be their best in return. As all decorating and color schemes indoors, I have these schemes flowing throughout…

I want to let you in on a secret. One of my favorite things to do in May is to poke around and shop some of the local garden club plant sales. Usually held around Mother’s Day, they’re a wonderful opportunity to chat with fellow gardeners, pick up tips and techniques, and to learn about…

One of my best gardening tips is to plant on a cloudy day (and if the forecast calls for rain later or the following day, all the better!). This also goes for trimming shrubs. As plantings really start to take off and the season progresses, Murph will be out there buzzing away with his hedge…

One of my favorite shrubs is the Forsythia. So very easy to grow. Every year I like to add to a few shrubs to our bright yellow forsythia bank. (Building on what I already have truly creates more impact.) I plant them in full sun, a couple of feet apart. Within 3 years or so,…

Springtime tulips and hyacinths are a natural go-to for Easter decorating and gift giving. By simply taking market or nursery purchased plants, removing them from the confines of their plastic, foil shrouded pots and placing them into clay pots, the results are a pretty, easy and inexpensive way to elevate the look of these seasonal…

Scot Haney of WFSB’s Better Connecticut came by Connecticut Country House and we had a great time hanging out in the kitchen creating two types of nature inspired floral spring baskets. Rustic grapevine baskets from Terrain were fitted with liners and planted with diminutive violas and petite grape hyacinths. Adorned with our FREE downloadable watercolor…

Winter is a bit tough on this gardener, so I try and do as much as I can, as early as I can. As WFSB-3’s Better Living Lifestyle contributor, I spent a great afternoon in the sun-drenched Garden Room of Connecticut Country House with Better Connecticut’s host and good egg, Scot Haney, where I demonstrated…

One of the ways that I satisfy my craving for spring, is by forcing arching branches of forsythia to bloom indoors. At Connecticut Country House, towards the end of February, is when I venture outside armed with a pair of sharp Fiskars hand pruners, clip a bunch of branches laden with buds, plunk them into…