Out & About | A Traveling Gardener

Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Fall foliage is such a spectacular show of color creating a magical glow of light under the trees. The honey locust trees are the color of gold, the Chinese Pistachio leaves turn red. The cottonwoods were just beginning to change color. The sky a bright blue with patches of white puffy clouds.

A perfect temperature in the mid sixties provide great weather for wandering through the garden. The contrast in colors from an April visit to November is fun to experience. The spring blooms of aloes and wildflowers that grow at knee level are gone. The color now is up in the air. The leaves command the attention. Sitting under the Pistachio trees enjoying the changing light as the sun moves in out of the clouds. The leaves in shades of light green, yellow green, gold, peach, orange and red all backed by the bright blue sky make a momentary masterpiece not to be captured but only to be enjoyed at this moment.... Continue Reading

Fancy Tulips

Winter is a long season in the middle of the country. When the limits of age restrict your range of activity to a small circle of travel, winter can be especially long. With that thought in mind my sister and I arrived at our Mom’s garden to plant a little magic for the spring. The end of the summer growing season requires putting the garden away. Various garden decorations need to be carried inside to protect them from the freezing and thawing that occurs. Favorite flower pots, a garden angel, a gazing ball, and other pretty things are carried inside to store away. A few plants are carried to the basement in hopes they can winter over to be returned to the garden in the spring. Some times they survive, other years it is so cold even the basement shelter can’t protect them.... Continue Reading

Back home again in Indiana

October in Indiana may just be the best season of the year in that part of the country. The corn and beans are ready to harvest. The leaves are turning, the temperature dropping, the pumpkins in plentiful supply. The air is crisp, the heater kicks on as the evening comes. The dogs coats are growing longer to keep them warm in the winter. The fall season is so beautiful; there are apples, cider, harvest of the last tomatoes, soup on the stove. The great joy of returning to my childhood home for another precious visit.... Continue Reading

Montreal Botanical Garden

Quebec, Canada

This is an amazing garden with its collection of 22,000 plant species and cultivars, 10 exhibition greenhouses, some thirty thematic gardens. I wandered through for over 7 hours and still didn’t see it all. On a cool, sunny September day the garden was full of color, texture and surprises.... Continue Reading

Wentworth Park & Sydney Labor Park

There is lush green, blue sky, white puffy clouds and lots and lots of water in this part of the world. Twin public parks include walking paths surrounding a long lake. The recognition of the laborers of the coal and steel industries are part of the purpose of this city park. This green space is not even listed on the city’s website and not in guidebooks as of yet. Still for a restorative break from travel this is worth the walk from the city harbor. This is a fine example of maximizing what nature gives you. Rock work, trees, water, and entertaining ducks provide a pleasant visit.... Continue Reading

Marigolds on Main Street

St John, New Brunswick, Canada

A spectacular fall day with bright blue sky and strips of white clouds floating about, the temperature is 70 degrees and I hear a story of marigolds. St. John is alive with orange and yellow marigolds along the main street. Elementary school children have been planting marigold seeds in their classrooms each spring for the past 14 years. Watering the seeds and overseeing the plants growing into strong little plants. Students then gather at the end of school to plant the flowers in their community to enjoy all summer long. According to H.P Smith writing for the Telegraph Journal. “I think it shows that we’re close to a generation of children who have made changes in our community,” Barry Ogden(founder of the event) said, adding that many children, while learning, ask themselves questions about why they learn.... Continue Reading

The Elms

Newport, Rhode Island

Built in 1901 as a summer retreat of Edward Julius Berwind & his wife Herminie. The house was inspired by an 18th century French Chateau. The house is huge, gilded and filled with art. It is the garden that drew me here. Elm trees were a significant feature in the landscape of this city in the early 1900’s. The “cottages” of the Vanderbilts, Astors, Doris Duke and other titans of unlimited power and money were only summer places used for 8 weeks during the summer. The shade from these great trees helped cool the space for parties, croquet and cocktails.... Continue Reading

Brooklyn Heights Promenade

Finding green space in the City of New York is surprisingly easy. A population of 8 million people speaking 800 languages it seems they all speak garden. Trees, window boxes, flower beds, shrubs and vines reach for the sun especially on a beautiful September day. New York Magazine describes it “The city is filled with amazing views, but few can top the ones from this scenic third-of-a-mile stretch along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Postcard-like views of lower Manhattan, South Street Seaport, the East River and the Brooklyn Bridge draw photographers, couples on romantic walks, and New Yorkers who want an inspiring place to sit and think. “... Continue Reading

A Winter Garden, Manhattan, NYC

We were in New York City on Sept. 11, 2011, the anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. The city was busy, thoughtful and highly secured. We walked to the site of the World Trade Center memorial and rebuilding. The enormity of the space and an awakening sense of how intense the event was in this neighborhood grew as we explored.

In the World Trade Center there is an overlook of the construction site and the memorial. We were directed to walk toward the “Winter Garden.” Interior hallways link many buildings in lower Manhattan and we continue to follow the hall way until we came to this large open space.... Continue Reading

Up on the roof

Truly one of the great treasures of this country is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Founded in 1870 by a group of American citizens it is now one of the largest art galleries in the world. There is 2,000,000 square feet of gallery. This big building also has a large roof, known as the the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden. It offers views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline. The museum is open late on Friday nights and after an inside visit we went up on the roof to have a drink and watch the sunset in Manhattan. The roof garden space to features a summer sculpture exhibition and so the garden is not the main focus. But still there are pots, plants, vines and trellis to soften the space. The view of the trees of Central Park quickly enhances the garden effect.... Continue Reading