ornamental plants Archives - A Way To Garden

garden-design ideas from george schoellkopf of hollister house

margaret — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 18:09:40 +0000

GEORGE SCHOELLKOPF returned from a 1979 trip visiting English gardens inspired to do some garden-making of his own. His canvas was a Northwestern Connecticut hillside and not the Cotswolds, and the home he just purchased wasn’t a grand manor house, but a simple 18th-century farmhouse. Nevertheless, George brought the feel of an English garden to life at the place that became Hollister House, which today is a much-visited destination garden, and also the site of a rich offering of educational programs throughout the season, including the popular Garden Study Weekend early each September. In the gardens at Hollister House in Washington, Conn., he has contrasted the formal and informal, made room-like spaces to explore, and experimented with a wide-ranging palette of plants over the years. George will be talking about the making of Hollister House on Saturday, Sept. 6 at the annual Garden Study Weekend there, along with several other noted speakers on a diversity of topics. Some of the design ideas that went into the garden’s making were what we talked about together recently. Read along as you listen to the July 14, 2025 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to […]

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topiary’s therapeutic powers, with mike gibson

margaret — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 20:20:33 +0000

WE’RE GOING TO do some pruning, but not the same old straight-forward kind. Instead we’re going to talk topiary, and its transformative powers—not just on the plant that is the subject that’s getting clipped, or on the garden that the living sculpture will eventually adorn, but potentially on the creator, too. Topiary artist Mike Gibson and I talked about the horticulture and the artistry in what he does, and also about the therapeutic properties of making topiary. Mike Gibson has been engaging with plants since his childhood in Ohio. Starting in late 2021, he contributed to the restoration of Pearl Fryar’s famed topiary creations at the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden in South Carolina. Mike now lives in Columbia, S.C., where he operates Gibson Works LLC. He was one of the experts profiled in Amy Stewart’s 2024 book “The Tree Collectors,” has been featured on the HGTV show “Clipped,” and is a popular lecturer and teacher of all things topiary. Read along as you listen to the June 23, 2025 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 (and browse my archive of podcasts here). […]

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inspirations for the cutting garden, with frances palmer

margaret — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 16:01:41 +0000

SOME OF US plant a row of particular annuals with the intention to cut them for bouquets in their moment of bloom, and some of us think bigger and have a whole cutting garden within our landscape. I feel like ceramic artist and passionate gardener Frances Palmer thinks biggest of all and that every plant in her extensive gardens—not just the tulips, zinnias or dahlias that you might expect, but even the herbs and her flowering vines and branches of ornamental trees and shrubs—are all fair game for having their moment in a vase someday at her place. Expanding your interpretation of the phrase “cutting garden” was the topic of our recent conversation, with plant ideas and tips for success. Connecticut based Frances Palmer is a well-known ceramist and gardener, author of the 2020 book, “Life in the Studio: Inspiration and Lessons on Creativity,” and creator of a popular Instagram account, too. Her newest book is “Life with Flowers: Inspiration and Lessons from the Garden” (affiliate links). Plus: Comment in the box near the bottom of the page for a chance to win a copy of her latest book. Read along as you listen to the June 16, 2025 edition […]

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