For the past hundred and one years, the Chelsea Flower Show has celebrated the best in English horticulture and garden design. Sponsored by the Royal Horticultural Society, it is a much-anticipated five-day plant extravaganza that attracts thousands of people. While not nearly as fusty as it once was, it is necessarily bound by a certain … Read more
I have been swept off my feet by a flashy cat, appropriately named ‘Blue Dreams.’ The cat in question is botanical rather than feline, but it has many feline qualities. Like pedigreed, four-footed cats, ‘Blue Dreams’ has a fancy proper name—Nepeta subsessilis ‘Blue Dreams.’ Its stems arch gracefully, reminiscent of a cat’s back and, like … Read more
Eleven years ago I bought a beautiful garden book with an intriguing title: The Laskett. Subtitled, “The Making of a Garden,” the book chronicled the creation of a horticultural masterpiece that was also the unique manifestation of the bond between the author, Roy Strong, and his artistic and talented wife, Julia Trevelyan Oman. Sir Roy … Read more
of us gardeners spend a great deal of time wandering aimlessly in the shady wilderness searching for something colorful. We know perfectly well that green is a fascinating color, perfect unto itself. But yet, many of us still want something more vibrant. This is not a problem in spring, because there are plenty of hellebores, … Read more
I have always been extremely impressionable. Last weekend I watched video adaptations of some of English author P.G. Wodehouse’s hilarious short stories, featuring the ultimate upper class wastrel, Bertie Wooster, and his indispensible valet, Jeeves. I was so impressed with Jeeves’ impeccable housekeeping standards that for the next two days I had the bed made, … Read more
