Fall decorations are all about pumpkins, chrysanthemums and harvest colors (orange and red).  The Bittersweet vine, with its beautiful color, is a ubiquitous symbol of fall.  With a little foraging in the woods, lots of folks come home with these berries to add to window box

The idea of carving gourds into lanterns originated hundreds of years ago in Ireland, where people carved locally available turnips and potatoes.  The practice was based on the legend of a character named “Stingy Jack”. As the story goes, Jack tricked the Devil a numb

Fall is the perfect time of year for jam making.  Fruit is readily available, it’s nice to warm up the kitchen on a chilly weekend, and jam makes a great gift for the upcoming holidays.   Last week, my good friend and I got together to make a batch of our frequently re

Who doesn’t love fall in New England.  The perfect weather, great farm produce, and gorgeous fall color!  While most people know and love the Maple family for color, there are so many other great trees that can make a perfect addition to your landscape.  Here are

My other stop while exploring Westport this week, was to the Westport Rivers Winery.  (I have a hard time driving by a winery without visiting!)   Westport Rivers Winery tasting room and art gallery A $10 tasting fee allowed me to sample a wide range of their wines; from spa

This week, I was fortunate to spend a perfect fall day exploring the town of Westport.  On Massachusetts’s South Coast;  Westport is a little over an hour from Boston, but maintains a peaceful feel somewhere between a seaside and farming community.  After a visit

The nights are getting a bit chilly and the sun seems to be setting much too early; yep it’s fall in New England.  That doesn’t mean you have to head indoors, though;  with a few considerations there’s still plenty of time left in the season to enjoy your o

I just got back from a great conference in Atlanta for writers, designers and generally anyone in the garden industry that wants to use blogs and social media more effectively in their business.  It was a great opportunity to meet some people who are real leaders and taste-makers

As promised in my last post on the French Alps, in this post I’m excited to share some photos from the second part of my summer vacation.  A visit to Lake Como in Italy offered an amazing opportunity to enjoy local scenery, food, wine and of course, some gorgeous gardens! A

This summer I was fortunate to head to Europe for vacation and spent a fantastic week exploring the French Alps and the Lakes District of Italy (more on the latter in the next post). La Grave, a small town in France, served as my home base for a few days of hiking in the Alps.  W