Gardening
A good summer haircut
The time has come. Plants that have wintered indoors and are now in summer residence outdoors (on the other side of their window) need a little sprucing up. All the…
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Rustic elegance
I was counting the flower buds on my Peonies…43 and counting! (Yippee!) The Lady’s Mantle beds, right outside the kitchen door, are growing fuller, taller, and more chartreuse by the…
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Planting tomatoes
Just got back with a beautiful batch of organic tomato plants (their names and descriptions were so intriguing, I had a tough time walking away without buying one of everything).…
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Yellow infusion
I love decorating the entrances of the old house with what’s flowering at the moment. And just in time for Easter, it just so happens that the humungous, wild bank…
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Flower power
Spring has sprung at Connecticut Country House! The halls have been un-decked, and the trees dragged out to the big composting ditch down in the back 40. The rooms are…
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My latest love affair
This weekend I declared the Peony to be my favorite flower. Now, this here declaration is a big deal because I have so many favorites (lilies, roses, orchids, sunflowers –…
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My gardening guru
“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.” – Gertrude Jekyll, British gardener (1843-1932) When…
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One take
Murph was really on his game this weekend – concocting probably the very best, most awesome batch of Corn and Crabmeat Chowder he has ever made – ever. One taste…
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Simple beauty
Each week, here at Connecticut Country House – something’s in bloom. (Love it and so in my element.) This week, the back path to the house (which happens to be…
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Fit and trimmed
As usual, this time of year (honestly, I think it’s more like all year) my obsession with flowering plants is truly that – an obsession. I find it impossible not…
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Dig this
In honor of Earth Day, I’m honoring 5 of my favorite gardening books. Truthfully, I have a lot of favorites, but for one reason or another these top 5 tend…
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Pay up now or pay up later
I think I’ll pay up now. Last year I waited too long to clean out the rose beds nearest to the house. By the time I got in there –…
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Post Easter jump start
Easter is a great motivator for the gardener in me. Having just received beautiful spring plants, not to mention the slew I ended up buying and decorated with – yesterday…
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Branching out
I am happy to report that Saturday’s photo shoot for the book went off without a hitch. Yay team! I will go further with that statement and declare it a…
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Family Wash Day
I can’t stand it. Snow, snow, and more snow. Looking out the window it’s hard to imagine that spring is right around the corner – and that all my gardens…
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Pretty lil’ thing
I’m a nut for flowers. All year, no matter what the season, I rely on flowers to add a little “pretty and happy” to the space I’m living or working in.…
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Last minute dig
I know we’re all in more of a holiday frame of mind, and I do hate to bum out the holly jolly vibe, but just for a moment, I need…
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Forcing a favorite: Paperwhites
I love to decorate for the holidays as naturally as possible. And finding just the right mix of planted and cut foliage and flowers is my well-balanced decorating solution. Every…
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Hello Monday!
Azaleas blooming in Connecticut – in November? That’s right. And in my powder room, to boot! I have a pair of freaky miniature Azalea topiaries that bloom twice a year…
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Holiday Into Winter Decorating: Amaryllis
As a rule of thumb, I love to use nature – in some form – in decorating throughout my home. And the beauty in decorating with nature is that I…
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Hello Monday!
I think I cut the largest bouquet ever this weekend – it stood almost 4 feet tall! In a teeny-tiny way, it reminded me of a wee smaller (and wilder)…
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Hello Monday!
Happy Fall! Well we’re into the third day of the new season, and I have to say that on a crisp day like today – New England is the…
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Cape Cod garden tour
Back from our annual pilgrimage to our beloved Cape Cod – the place where our family really kicks back and relishes every minute of keeping it simple. Lots of beach…
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Oh beans!
One vegetable from the kitchen garden that always gets rave reviews, especially from our teenage son Conor, are the string beans. Now that’s saying something! He loves them freshly picked,…
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Mid-summer garden tour
Our mid-summer garden tour is full of perennials, like our many varieties of day lilies, that keep blooming like crazy – heat or no heat! The roses are stressed right…
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