always a crowd pleaser. we are going to do some more work at this property soon so I was there yesterday doing some evaluation and visited with the client. we are both kind of blown away by how lush this garden is.

#ornamentalgrasses
#lotsofgrasses
#cottagegarden
#catskillgardens
#landscapedesign ...

July is really giving big and fluffy flowers over here in my gardens. Swipe through for Swallowtail content. 🦋 ...

Late August foggy garden #Donstathamblog #totemfarmgarden #donstathamgarden #catskillgardens #angelicagigas ...

Flowers, doing their amazing job of bringing joy. Much needed. #garden #catskillgardens #gardener #flowerpots #annuals #flowersofinstagram #flowergarden #colorcomposition #flowerjoy #forthebees #forthehummingbirds #forthesoul ...

since we have been designing, installing and stewarding landscapes/gardens for 20 years now, I am constantly overwhelmed by how they evolve. this willow walk is just an amazing example. I actually did visualize it becoming a canopy from the beginning but it is had to believe how amazingly it has transformed. We just put in a variety of carex under them to get some soft green texture and for me to see how these different varieties behave there: (for geeks only) albicans, eburnea, radiata and montana.

PLEASE SCROLL THOUGH TO SEE THE BEGINNING AND MIDDLE; forgive me for shouting but . . .

#maturegardens
#oldgardens
#willowwalk
#gardenevolution
#catskillgardens
#landscapedesign ...

some views of my spiral garden, not really yet in bloom, but very fluffy. it was supposed to be low maintenance, ha! That was a fantasy.

#spiralgarden
#lownaintenancegardennot
#catskillgardens
#specialtygardens
#landscapedesign ...

we have been working on this property in stages over the past decade. The clients are lovely people have become really good friends. I was just realizing that the second visit each season is one of the best because the spring cleanup is done and things are growing in; it is such a thrill to be able to fluff it up and make it look great. This one is particularly fun. How about those geranium macrorrhizums? 😬

#catskillgardens
#catskillsmountains
#gardenmaintenance
#geranuimmacrorrhizum
#landscapedesign ...

the garden in the morning light. I am usually working at the computer and practicing the cello in the early morning, frantically trying to get things done so that I can get out with the team to do our work; the other day I had to help my wife with something really early and was so enchanted by the light and feeling that I was inspired to take some photos.

#gardeninthemorning
#catskillgardens
#catskillslandscapes
#gardendesign
#julygarden ...

freshly painted and patiently waiting. we have already been working for a month sneaking in days here and there, but it looks like the elusive spring of the Catskills has given us a few more days of rest. I’ll take it, even though I’m bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to get started for real.

#spring?
#catskillgardens
#catskilllandscapes
#prettypictures ...

Garden Conservancy Open Days - 7/6: My garden and 4 other glorious gardens in our remote Delaware County are open to see this coming weekend. You have to go to the Garden Conservancy website and search for the date and location and register but you can do it!!! It will be a great way to spend a Saturday in the Catskills. Peggy (my amazing wife) may even make some goodies to sit and enjoy on the porch (which is our favorite viewing spot).

Don't miss my dear friends' garden on Gunhouse Hill Road as well as all of my other friends' gardens on display.

#gardenconservancy
#gardenconservancyopendays
#gardentour
#exploregardens
#catskillgardens
#julygardens ...

I know is it odd to open a post with a mass of gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides), the dreaded plant that I warn everyone to keep out of their garden. However, in a situation where I want a dense groundcover where there is nothing else that will require little to no weeding, it is great. it will hold a bank, looks good all season and even providing beautiful fall color. My clients call it the soufflé because it often has a fluffy/lumpy top that looks, well, like a soufflé.

My client did this beautiful barn renovation so that the "barn bed" that has daffodils, daylilies and Black-eyed Susans providing a succession of blooms, really sings, especially tiered with the goosies. We just extended the barn trifecta bed to the end of the new wall.

The meadowish treatment, clearly visible in the 5th photo was an experiment with interspersing different grasses and forbs into an existing hay field to see if we could get something nice without having to kill everything first and go through the whole meadow creation drama. It is OK I think.

#scaryplants
#dontputhisinyourgarden
#goosiesandsuzies
#renovatedbarn
#landscapedesign
#catskillgardens ...