TOWER HILL

I went to Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston MA yesterday to hear Other Ellen (EZ) speak about Back Yard Foraging, her latest book.  (see book cover on left) She is a fantastic speaker!

And I went  craving spring color. My raised bed in Exeter NH is still covered with a snow pile . I NEEDED  spring. Tower Hill provided plenty.

Of course Crocuses...

and Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis),

and in the bark of the birch in morning light.  I'll remind all you doubters that although an image of this trunk will appear in my next collage, I gathered my actual bark locally and didn't spirit any away from this fabulous garden.

Of the several Witch hazels in bloom, my favorite, Hamamelis x intermedia c.v.Orange Peel; the flowers are big, and dramatic.

I've no idea what this bold structure is for, but I didn't ask. I'm creating my own designs in my head until I return and see what the Tower Hill designers actually do.

Not much color yet on this flowering cherry tree, but plenty of bird song throughout the garden.
Much easier to spy nests for novices like me before the leaves appear.

 

When can I come again, tomorrow?

SPRING PLANTING

Ben Platt, height 6'1, stands in front of my garden bed in Exeter NH on 2/20/15. I live and garden here.

 Ben Platt, still 6'1, on the fourth day of spring. Will I ever garden here?

While I wait to garden, I make this photo collage called Icicles 2015. I've used parts of 12 images I captured, cut and pasted.

HOT OFF THE PRESSES

My article 'Preserve your Garden Memories' just debuted in 'Country Gardens' magazine on newsstands, early spring 2015 edition. The article describes four of my garden collages and how I made them.
Above, 'New York Memories', which includes cut and torn photos of plants in 'my' rooftop garden in NYC; dried rose hips, pressed hydrangea and marigold petals, Aronia and Virginia creeper berries, and other assorted goodies in a found frame. Except for the ginko leaves, all  plant material was borrowed from the  garden I tended for my condo building.

'Traditional Canterbury' above honors the town in NH where my daughter and son-in-law live and where I go to scratch my itch to weed a big garden.  The town center encompasses one white steepled church with parish house, one white bandstand, a town hall, library, and country store. The Shaker village is sited a few miles away from the town center. Traditional as it is, the townspeople approved a solar collector farm to power the public buildings. See photo near top right. In this collage, I combined parts of photos with birch bark and twigs.

One of my fave NYC garden spaces and one of my fave collages (now in the collection of Diane and Gary Hitzemann).
Like the other two collages above, I combined pieces of many images I captured on and around the High Line with real dried plant material. In the case of public gardens I never borrow plant material; but I did cut leaves of northern sea oats which grow on the High Line, from the garden I tended on my roof top.
Since March 2014 I live in Exeter NH near the coast. My latest collages reflect my own change of venue.

No photos here; but torn paper, fabric, wool and discarded paper I found in the recyling bins of my NYC condo and actually paid to move to Exeter. My interest in trash has no bounds.