My Traveling Gardener journey began because I loved seeing beautiful flowers. Then, traveling to Kyoto, Japan, I am now in love with rocks! Standing rocks, flat rocks, rocks striated in colors, textured and engraved rocks. By chance, our guide suggested we would enjoy a private garden created by his friend’s father, Kenji Nakahara. So we drove down a small street and stopped at a gate just a few feet from the edge of the street. Stone foo dogs guard the entrance on each side.
Tag: Unforgettable
Walk with me in Vancouver, BC, Canada
The last week of July, it was 116 degrees (47 Celcius) in my Arizona garden. Luckily, I escaped to Vancouver, Canada, for a few days to enjoy pleasant summer days and temperatures in the low 80s (26 ).
Portmore Gardens, A Scottish Delight
Time is our checkerboard of dark and bright with peace and turmoil, grieving and delight. And in the end, there is no more time to tell to make amendments; so love and use time well. E. Cartwright Hignett
Dunbar’s Close, Edinburgh, Scotland
If you find yourself in Edinburgh, Scotland, you will be inclined to walk the Royal Mile from Holyrood House to Edinburgh Castle.
It is the iconic corridor. Travel guides highlight it. People flock to it; movies immortalize it. Along the way, there is history, shops, then more history, and more shops.
Resolute, gardening in the new year
Returning home at 2:30 am from a two-week travel trip, I first went into the garden to see what I could see. I always miss my garden, and though I have it arranged to stay in good care when I travel, I am always eager to see what may have changed.
Garden Travels, the best view of our world
I’ve just returned from a three-week trip exploring Scottish Gardens. My husband and I rented a car at the Aberdeen Airport and set off for our adventure. Rich did all the 852 miles of driving with a right-hand drive and a left-hand 6-speed shifter. Our GPS guide was the calm and reassuring voice of the actress Emma Thompson, and we loved her. But it takes both of us to stay focused on driving down shady tiny “B” roads with one-lane bridges, watching out for horseback riders, cyclists, and huge farm equipment along the way.
Ohinetahi, Garden, House & Art
We drove to Governor’s Bay, through the harbor town of Lyttleton, the actual epicenter of the 2010-2011 great earthquake which was generally known as the Christchurch quake. Just beyond the Governor’s Bay Hotel is Ohinetahi. Can’t figure out how to pronounce that? Neither could I, however, the resident, creator, architect and gardener Sir Miles Warren told me. Divide it into five syllables, O-hen-E-Ta-HE. Sir Miles is a well-known architect, he designed the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, D.C. to note just one of his projects.
Oh the gardens you will find!
We’ve been traveling in New Zealand for just a week and already I’ve been asked “Do you ever get tired of visiting gardens?” Exploring the world through gardens brought me here. How can anyone get tired of seeing such incredible beauty, creativity, and passion of gardeners?
Never skip the Children’s Garden!
The Children Inside Us
Recently I encouraged friends to visit the San Diego Botanical Gardens during their visit in the area. Upon their return I eagerly quizzed them on what they saw. They had obviously enjoyed their visit, even the more reluctant visitor of the two. I then asked, “Did you visit the Children’s Garden?” “No,” was their reply, “we didn’t take the time,” I understood. I have visited many public gardens and assumed I was too “big” to enjoy the children’s garden. I would hurry by on my way to enjoy the other garden displays for adults. When I have wandered into the Children’s garden near the end of a long day of garden strolling I discovered one very definite tip for visiting gardens, “Don’t skip the children’s garden!”The San Diego BG, near Encinitas, CA opened a new children’s garden in the summer of 2009. Visiting this beautiful botanical garden and missing a visit to the children’s garden is a loss to anyone of any age. As busy adults we easily miss the whimsy and wonder of nature. A children’s garden touches the child that still resides in all of us. Happiness sprouts as we wander through such special places filled with topiary animals, rooftop gardens and pint size potting benches.
Peace Gardens
Writings
As I began my garden travels in August I fled the high temperatures of the Valley and I fled from the highly charged political debate engulfing our country. I longed for peace in a garden as only nature could bring. As our country and the world grapple with so many conflicts I try to remember conflict is part of life. Peace Gardens remind me citizens throughout the world see gardens as a path to peace.