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 ...

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

The Annual Andes Library Benefit Garden Tour is this Saturday, 8/6 between 11 and 4. Garden tours are that greatest way to spend a day exploring different neighborhoods, seeing people's properties and some varied and beautiful gardens. This tour has some new gardens this year and some that I am very excited to visit. A couple I have been admiring from the road for years.

Go the Andes Library in the heart of the village to make your donation and pick up your map. Be sure to come see me at my garden. Coming to my garden first would be a great start.

See you soon --- Mel

#catskillgardens
#gardendesign
#localgarden
#catskillsevents
#countrygardens ...

Garden house doing what garden house is to do. #snakethorne #gardenhouse #diygreenhouse #reclaimedwindows #window house #hudsonvalleygardens #hudsonvalleygardener #greatnortherncatskills #catskillgardens ...

Scenes from the garden. Every year the plants put on a different show with many of the same characters while new stars emerge… the veg garden is prepped and planned for a tightly packed cohabitation of greens, cucumbers, tomatillos, corn, squash beans, and of course tomatoes. Then any inch not filled will have flowers. The Chestnut tree blooms at the stream looking like some fantastical planet earth we live on.
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#gardening #springflowers #springgarden #thecatskills #catskillgardens #forestgarden ...

I stopped by this charming cottage where we put in this little garden last year and was delighted to see how great it looked. The clients are great and have been taking care of it so I hadn't seen it in a while. We are going to do more work on this place when the septic is replace but I love the building and setting. If you scroll to the last 2 photos you can see what it looked like before we started. I think it is really fun to see the "befores" viburnumgardens

#cottagegarden
#gardendesign
#catskillgardens
#gardening ...

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 ...

this garden and amazing property looks so great this time of year. also, my love of gravel and rocks does help 😀

#countryestategardens
#catskillgardens
#zone4gardening
#landscapedesign ...

We did a huge project last year with many walls, paths, steps and naturalistic plantings. We are not taking care of this property so I don't get opportunities to photograph it. I stopped by on a whim on the last day of September in the middle of the day and took a bunch of photos. There is so much going on and it is hard to capture. I was so excited see it looking so spiffy.

#naturalisticplantings
#steppingstones
#landscapedesign
#catskillgardens
#catskillmountains ...

I rarely post images of brand new installations but this one is really special and I am very excited about it. We got the opportunity to design and install a beautiful landscape for a village property with a great client. We got to start with a blank canvas and create paths, a courtyard, patio, pergola with swing and several matrix plantings that I can't wait to see in their full glory. There will be multiple framings for sculptures. No, the hose holder is not a sculpture.

Thank you leokoenigart

#landscapedesign
#villagegarden
#sculpturegarden
#catskillgardens
#leokoenig ...

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 ...

looking the fall gardens!!!!

#fallgarden
#landscape_lovers
#landscapedesignideas
#catskillgardens ...

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 ...

we were engaged by these lovely folks to help revamp and maintain their terraced garden. over the years we added a lot things, removed some things, pruned and moved stuff around. we added some rocks and gravel here and there. they typically have a lot of deer damage but when we visited the other day, it just looked great and I was inspired to take some photos and share them. we did not design the garden or build the walls but I think the overall affect is really nice.

#catskillgardens
#terracedgarden
#gardening
#mixedplanting
#landscapedesign ...

Got a SHAGGY HEART? Trim & clean that baby up. There’s only 3 weeks left for that “Summer Romance”. Get with it. #topiary #topiarygarden #heartsabound #showyourlove #catskillgardens #foodforthought True ...

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 ...

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 ...

This is the project that we started last fall (2023) and finished just before Thanksgiving of this year (2024). We had a huge wet snow before I could photograph it really finished and the grill had still not be set and hooked up. That required professionals who deal with gas and electric.

We actually planted it in late October but there are a lot of plugs and transplants so with the small size, fall plants and leaves it doesn't look like much yet. I can not wait to see it by late July this year as it should transform all of the architecture and hardscaping into a beautiful garden.

This was our most challenging and dramatic design and installation ever. The last photo gives an idea of the starting point and the penultimate photo shows the big curved countertop that Gus (my partner) figured out how to move and install with a makeshift dolly system. I created so many challenges with all of the curves and wood/stone combinations and the steep slope added such complications. Gus did an amazing job of making it all work and working out of the details that I are inherent in the design.

The clients are wonderful and we are really looking forward to stewarding this property into something amazing.

#terracedgarden
#steepslopegardening
#stoneandwood
#stonesteps
#catskillgardens ...