Formal terraces drift into rugged footpaths

We work with this garden so that when people walk into it they sense that they have entered the edges of a wilder area, perhaps a meadow.   The formal terraces near the house drift into softer terraces that become simple footpaths entering into the woods.  The farther terraces are naturalized rather than formal and well-defined.  These  varying locations are gardened differently and provide constantly changing colors and textures with each season.

Holiday Floral Arrangements from the Garden

It is hard to believe that there is still this much color in the New York winter yard, but there is.  Here is our Thanksgiving Dinner floral arrangement that we made from our garden plants.  Brightest are the Winterberries and Hydrangeas, and also the varied leaves from a variety of bushes.  Softest color comes from the purple berries of the Beauty Bush.  Free for the taking and free shipping, of course.

Color's Last Blast

A worthy and sustained attempt to be colorful in the late autumn.  No plastic surgery for these fellows.  Just the beauty of the fade.

The Secret Garden- A Special Place for Children

In one of his garden projects,  Joe is designing a grassy circle of small trees, surrounded by hydrangea, rhododendron, and native grasses, at the top of the hill as a location especially for children, so they may take "hikes" and sit on blankets in the side yard and look at the big view across the river and through the trees.

Tired of weeding? Look up.

The Palisades are a terrific respite from hours of weeding and raking,  my knees stuck in the dirt, arms and legs weary from tugging and pulling on horrible, creepy, invasive vines.  It pays every once in awhile to stop looking down at the weeds and to look up and catch the larger view.   This view reaches past all the noisy leaf blowers, dismisses the roars of lawn mowers and shifts one's thoughts beyond ones aching muscles.  When I stand up from weeding, I see the Palisades of New Jersey across the Hudson River. What a mood they provide each day. 

Mint Tea Anyone?

Pinch a couple of mint leaves out in the yard, drop them in steaming water and have a cup of mint tea.  Delicious!  It is late November and they are still fresh and green.

A New Approach to Getting There

Falling, tumbling, rolling down the hill, limping upon our return. We finally gave in and repaired the steps. Now the entire backyard is available to us for planting. We have a completely new medium for our work. Water trickles through the granite rocks leaving small streams to be a constant source of water for certain portions of the yard. Shade mixes with bright sun. It is a bit like going into the Grand Canyon, because the noises of the street and yard disappear as we step lower into the backyard. You can see what our steps used to look like in the 2009 part of this blog.

A woman visited us last year and told us that she lived in our house 35 years ago.  She said her parents built  the original steps so that she could quickly visit her best friend and neighbor who lived in the house below.  Now that the steps are finally repaired, I envision a new group of children using them them for adventures exploring the backyard.  Hopefully this includes our grandchildren.

Gardening steep slopes - Not for the faint at heart

Try mowing this yard!  We are working to naturalize this back yard.  We have removed all the invasive Norway Maples and are now replacing them with native plants.   Step by step, so they say.

Art Mimics Nature

Gabriel's painting of our bird bath out front

  Photo of the front garden taken this morning.

Above is a painting of the front garden that our son Gabriel did when he was in high school and below it is a photo of the same place, today.  This part of the garden is a haven for birds.

Cloudy with Possible Rain, but Hopeful

Wish me luck tomorrow.

A New Little Blossom in the Education Garden

First School Photo










Our eldest grandchild sent us her school photo from kindergarten.  Just like the other garden, things keep rejuvenating.   This time around, we just get to enjoy the photos and leave all the "making of the lunches" to our adult children.   Thank you Lila for the picture.  We are very proud of you.

Autumn reflections

 We are at the height of color.  There is no freeze yet, which explains the bright hues.  This is my favorite place to read.

Winter in Hastings on Hudson

Yes, this is a photo taken this November. We still have very lovely weather. These are the last of the flowers, along with a couple of roses still showing their faces.

November Colors

Tomatoes from the garden, even at this late date. But we are at the very tail end of the survivors. 

Today, there was evidence of sleet in the rain.  It is cold and damp outside.

Autumn in New York

    The colors this year are exceptional.  This is our backyard.