I had hoped to add a video to this end-of-month report on the garden, but sadly it is not going to happen because Time, as always, is ‘of the essence’. Hey ho…let’s just get on with it then, because time, as you know….
13.10.2023 - 15:31 / awaytogarden.com / margaret
IT’S HARD TO THINK of another place so rich with major gardens as the Brandywine Valley in Chester County, Pa., and an adjacent portion of Delaware. Five of those gardens have a historic connection—a family connection—as they were all by members of the du Pont family.
A new book,“Du Pont Gardens of the Brandywine Valley” (affiliate link) portrays the story of those places, and its photographer and writer took me on some virtual visits to these must-see gardens.
The book profiles five gardens created by generations of the du Pont industrial family—Longwood, Winterthur, and Mt. Cuba among them—in photographs by Larry Lederman and words by Marta McDowell, my guests.
Read along as you listen to the Oct. 16, 2023 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).
Margaret: Marta, it’s good to talk to you again. I haven’t talked to you in a while, but I hope all as well in both of your worlds. It looks like you two did some garden visiting, and certainly studying up on some of these gardens. Because wow, it’s a big book full of photographs and text as well.
As I said in the introduction, the five gardens, it’s not like they’re related entities managed by the same organization or anything, are they? They’re related by human ancestry. Is that right, Larry?
Larry: Yes. They have their unique histories and different branches of the family. I spent about a year and a half photographing them, and I went down every two weeks and stayed for two or three days. When I went down, I had a place at Longwood where I could stay. It was actually my COVID
I had hoped to add a video to this end-of-month report on the garden, but sadly it is not going to happen because Time, as always, is ‘of the essence’. Hey ho…let’s just get on with it then, because time, as you know….
We’re back with more from Susan Esche’s visit to the beautiful University of British Columbia Botanical Garden in Vancouver in early September. It is open to the public and has many different sections and types of gardens to explore.
We’ve visited Susan Esche’s home garden before (A Garden Wedding, the Flowers, and the Deer), but today she’s taking us along to visit a public garden in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Horse manure makes an extremely good soil improver for the garden. Often combined with stable bedding and allowed to rot down for a couple of years, horse manure is perfect for digging into planting holes or spreading onto the surface of bare soil. Fresh manure mustn’t be used directly on the garden as it can actually remove nutrients from the soil and scorch plants, but it can be added to compost heaps.
Fall is a great time for garden chores. This is the time to clean up before winter, protect vulnerable plants, and wind down the growing season. This isn’t the right time for all tasks, though. Know what to do with your garden in the fall and what not to do — for instance, what plants should not be cut back in the fall — to best prepare it for next year.
Take a tour of the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and discover a meeting ground of natural beauty, expert design, and horticultural excellence. Nestled in the picturesque landscape of coastal Maine, this garden offers a symphony of colors, fragrances, and serene vistas that will surely captivate any nature enthusiast. In this video, director of horticulture (and frequent Fine Gardening contributing writer) Andy Brand takes us on a journey through three of his favorite gardens and gives insights as to what makes them unique. This tour barely scratches the surface of what CMBG has to offer, however, with its more than 300 acres and 16 unique gardens connected by well-maintained paths and trails. You can spend days at the garden and still find something new.
REDUCING THE footprint of our lawns has been a key environmental message for gardeners in recent years, since lawns lack biodiversity and involve huge amounts of pollution between fertilizers, herbicides, and the gas used in mowing. But what to cultivate instead? That is the subject of a nearly 15-year native lawn research project at Cornell Botanic Gardens in Ithaca, New York, with some interesting insights.
Have you always longed to make wine from tasty sun-warmed grapes gathered from your own backyard? While I live in the ideal wine-growing region (USDA Zone 9b) near the well-known Napa Valley, you’ll be amazed to learn that backyard viticulture is entirely possible anywhere within USDA Zones 4 through 10. Growing wine grapes isn’t hard, but there are a number of key requirements that guarantee success, beginning with growing the wine you love! If you adore a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon at the end of the day, plant Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. When Chardonnay is your preference, you’ll need to grow grapes that produce a full-bodied Chardonnay. The following are some viticulture tips for planning and planting your own personal vineyard.
If, like the plants, you’re starting to feel the chills of winter, here are some of the best glasshouses and hot houses you can visit using our 2-for-1 Gardens card.
There are many mint varieties famous for their refreshing taste. These different Types of Mint offer a diverse range of flavors and scents, making them a fascinating subject of exploration. In this article, you will delve into the captivating world of many forms of this amazing herb.
I first learned the fundamentals of kitchen gardening from my mother, who learned it from her father, a passing-on of traditional skills repeated down through countless generations.
Multiseason Garden Bed with Hesse Cotoneaster Get fall garden interest that lasts into winter with this easy-care plant combination featuring a Hesse cotoneaster shrub. Fall into winter with multiseason plants