tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86518072380005176552012-01-18T01:10:03.299-05:00[reporting on gardens, horticulture, and botany]Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.comBlogger1501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-37341533278096519692011-12-10T14:29:00.001-05:002011-12-10T14:37:28.750-05:00

I was so happy to be interviewed recently by my gardening pal Marie Viljoen on her excellent blog, 66 Square Feet. Marie is a wonderful gardener and cook and urban forager. She gets more ideas and shares more knowledge out of her tiny Brooklyn garden than most people obtain from an acre. Take a look at what she's up to. You'll be inspired.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-85549513955891661732011-05-07T15:57:00.000-04:002011-05-07T15:57:50.680-04:00

[From the Rodale Institute Website] Stephen Orr: Growing tomorrow's garden Sustainable and beautiful is the future of our nation's gardens. By Amanda Kimble-Evans Stephen Orr, editorial director of gardening at Martha Stewart Living, and renowned author recently published a new book that turns an artist's eye on sustainable gardens across the country. Orr along with two other garden book

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-35383552562752656422011-04-03T08:27:00.002-04:002011-04-03T08:30:30.278-04:00

Down the gravel path with Stephen Orr The author of 'Tomorrow's Garden' hopes to interest gardeners in the use of gravel. Here, he talks responsibility, sustainability and landscaping with crushed stone. See a great article by Debra Prinzing on my new book here.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-90332734579125393552011-03-07T20:21:00.008-05:002011-04-13T21:27:43.014-04:00

I am a little late in posting this but I was so happy to be on the Martha Stewart Show last week to talk about my new book and our March garden issue. Martha was so generous to have me on and really sweet about the book. We discussed sustainable materials, book parties and why I shouldn't throw away plants after we do photo shoots. (I wouldn't have anyway...) Watch it here (once there, you

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-3108815412169745082011-03-02T08:31:00.001-05:002011-03-02T08:31:57.864-05:00

My garden friend Leeann Lavin wrote such a nice post about my book and the accompanying party for its release the other day on her blog Garden Glamour. She is a true lover of gardens and cooking read about her and see the blog post here. Thanks Leeann! .

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-31168046875554423112011-02-19T14:08:00.000-05:002011-02-19T14:08:10.915-05:00

Check out this adapted excerpt of Christy Ten Eyck's beautiful Austin garden from my book. It's in today's Off Duty Section of the Wall Street Journal.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-82070778950545898492011-02-16T00:16:00.001-05:002011-02-16T00:17:43.366-05:00

Seen at the Barnes and Noble, 86th Street and Lexington, NYC

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-31522753380056997232011-02-15T14:19:00.000-05:002011-02-15T14:19:57.031-05:00

My friend and work colleague Dimity Jones mentioned me and my new book in her blog, Three to One, today. Thanks Dimity!

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-18514168253147867522011-02-14T23:39:00.002-05:002011-02-14T23:40:38.163-05:00

(ps check out the ipad app too) Take a look at a selection of videos we produced for the ipad edition here.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-41117990962786371382011-02-02T15:11:00.003-05:002011-02-04T12:59:17.368-05:00

Please mark your calendars for February 15th at 7:30pm. I am going to be doing a short presentation and signing for my new book at the Upper East Side Barnes & Noble (86th and Lexington Avenue).

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-6477028204924579642011-02-02T14:47:00.001-05:002011-02-02T14:48:35.959-05:00

Click here to see my winter wonderland visit to The New York Botanical Garden's new 11-acre hilltop Azalea Garden.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-19366669263184720672011-01-19T10:18:00.003-05:002011-01-21T07:43:22.322-05:00

My colleagues from Martha Stewart Living , Stacey Hirvela and Ayesha Patel, shot a lovely Southern camellia story down on Burnside Island near Savannah. Take a look at this video and then check out the ipad story for download with lots of beautiful camellia varieties.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-75277337896092058512010-12-24T10:45:00.003-05:002011-01-08T11:39:22.861-05:00

I'm happy to share some images from my upcoming book, which is coming out February 15th. I'm really happy with the way the design came together and can't wait to hold the actual book in my hands. It's been a long road to publication!

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-62897896944873416532010-11-29T22:09:00.003-05:002010-12-08T09:36:37.567-05:00

It really is a thrill to see my first book cover for sale online. It's available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Borders and indiebound. Visit my author's page here.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-7598265060353391932010-11-29T09:57:00.000-05:002010-11-29T14:41:15.598-05:00

I suffer from an addiction that reaches a peak each year when it's time to place my fall bulb order. Someday you might even see me on one of those distressing intervention or rehab shows on television where I will grumpily submit to having my room searched for catalogs from Brent and Becky or Van Engelen and bonemeal instead of booze or drugs. This year, in a salute to the economy, I scaled back

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-19085512655677681862010-10-29T01:05:00.003-04:002010-10-29T08:58:01.024-04:00

 Here's to a happy Halloween and the end of the gardening labors for the year.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-11808765568800719162010-10-28T10:44:00.002-04:002010-11-29T16:27:30.074-05:00

I am happy to announce that I will start my new job as Gardening Editorial Director at Martha Stewart Living November 1st. I am very excited to be working with the many talented people there including the members of the garden department, Tony Bielaczyc and Stacey Hirvela. I will keep blogging here but also look for my posts on the Martha Stewart website.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-8856132984063516962010-09-29T12:58:00.004-04:002010-09-29T15:37:16.077-04:00

Finally, I got a measurable harvest from my tiny, shady, deer-ridden little vegetable patch. This year's success came from the Italian heirloom pole bean aptly named 'Trionfo Violetto' that I bought from Silver Heights Nursery. Not only does this variety sport beautiful lilac flowers and dark purple pods, it is absolutely delicious. After a few weeks away, some of the beans had grown too large

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-44972365328072690452010-09-29T07:59:00.001-04:002010-09-29T09:32:35.742-04:00

"I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues." This 1971 book by Dr. Seuss and its 1972 television special had a big effect on me as a child. This is pure environmentalism propaganda and I love it. The music is completely dated but the strong message of big business greed, capitalism and the dangers of unchecked consumerism is just as powerful today. This is especially true in light

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-72980269398496351132010-09-01T16:16:00.013-04:002010-09-02T00:22:55.241-04:00

While on a visit to see my Dad and stepmother in Aspen the other week, Chad and I had a free morning to take a hike. On our previous visits, we enjoyed Maroon Bells and Crater Lake so this time we wanted to try something new. My stepmother and her family have an intimate knowledge of the area hiking trails since they have been in Aspen for decades. They suggested Savage Lakes Trail, which is at

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-23599010970075075852010-08-16T18:15:00.001-04:002010-09-02T08:16:07.151-04:00

Recently we made pizza for 25 people in our outdoor stone fireplace at the lake house. It went really well—but we couldn't have done it without our friend James who is a fire-master. Over the past several years, he has developed the pizza dough recipe and perfected our outdoor cooking technique, which consists of a ceramic kiln shelf and small fire bricks placed between the hottest part of a very

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-87252677452181950532010-07-12T09:44:00.000-04:002010-07-13T18:15:01.788-04:00

If you are in New York City for the next several months, don't miss the show at the Whitney Museum about one of my favorite painters, the mystical loner Charles Burchfield (1893-1967). I wrote about him on this blog a year ago but didn't realize there would be an exhibition coming up. I couldn't be more pleased to go see his work in person. See that post here. The show ends October 17th.  Read

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-61658029377599072802010-07-02T09:30:00.009-04:002010-07-06T15:14:06.989-04:00

Thank you Maria for the pic Estate (Summer)—Joao Gilberto

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-13204051174174760652010-06-25T14:33:00.001-04:002010-06-25T14:43:09.369-04:00

Photograph by Bill Owens"I bought the lawn in six-foot rolls. It's easy to handle.I prepared the ground and my wife and son helped roll out the grass.In one day you have a front yard." The Hissing of Summer Lawns by Joni Mitchell He bought her a diamond for her throat He put her in a ranch house on a hill She could see the valley barbecues From her window sill See the blue pools in the

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-65615421620735815052010-06-25T11:10:00.004-04:002010-06-25T11:33:44.136-04:00

Actea racemosa. I liked the name better when it was known as Cimicifuga racemosa. This native of the woodlands of the eastern U.S. is also known as black cohosh, bugbane, black snakeroot or fairy candle and has a long history as a medicinal plant. There are two wondeful things about these plants in my upstate garden: they take care of themselves for weeks at a time while I'm not there AND the

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-61093268173983931082010-06-23T00:10:00.004-04:002010-06-24T22:48:43.750-04:00

The outdoor shower at our lake house is one of the best things about the advent summer. It is tucked behind the cabin next to the bluestone patio we extended a few weeks ago (more on that later). Guests love it. And the best part, you don't have to feel guilty about wasting water during a long, luxurious shower because you're also watering the plants.  Several years ago, we added a collection

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-36956379851665043202010-06-19T11:26:00.003-04:002010-06-23T14:49:14.714-04:00

Chad's iphone pic of the lake the other weekend. Recently I've seen an eagle that circles for long periods before diving a hundred feet or so into the water to grab a fish. He (or she) then hoists it off to its nest in the tall pines on the other shore.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-73145288077950619552010-06-01T11:27:00.005-04:002010-06-15T10:29:24.761-04:00

My favorite nursery these days is Silver Heights Farm near my house upstate. They specialize in all kinds of vegetables and herbs: dozens of dozens of rare tomato and pepper seedlings, 14 or so varieties of thyme, a whole row of different basils, Italian greens like puntarelle and also unusual old-fashioned things like lovage, sweet cicely, woad, and comfrey (what I'm holding above). If you are

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-13614130663857103832010-05-14T10:55:00.004-04:002010-05-14T11:00:09.929-04:00

John Gwynne and Mikel Folcarelli have a wonderfully inventive garden in Rhode Island. We did a story on their approximately one-acre coastal garden at House and Garden some years ago. It's divided into rooms that show off their decades of avid plant collecting and inspiring experiments with color and form. John has let me know that they are having a benefit in the garden for Great Dixter on June

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-77538181836023869922010-05-08T18:37:00.004-04:002010-05-08T18:57:54.874-04:00

My friend Lindsey and I came across this big beautiful Chinese fringetree (Chionanthus retusus) after a party this week at The New York Botanical Garden. This amazingly fragrant tree blooms in mid-spring and fills the air with the smell of sweet almonds and honey for a fair distance. The flowers look like white feathers (or indeed flapper fringe) and hang off the branches in tiered clouds. You

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-55199012367798782972010-05-07T13:58:00.004-04:002010-05-07T17:24:48.047-04:00

Along with the end of the daffodils last weekend, there were these beauties in the upstate garden: (left to right) •Grape hyacinth (Muscari aucheri 'Mount Hood')•Sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum)•White snake's-head lily (Fritillaria meleagris 'Alba')•Summer snowflake (Leucojum vernum)•Creeping veronica (Veronica umbrosa)•Grecian windflower (Anemone blanda 'Blue Shades')•Narcissus 'Thalia'•Golden

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-20652786796823426382010-04-29T19:50:00.011-04:002010-04-30T01:36:31.826-04:00

I like putting spring bulbs right in the front lawn for a couple of reasons. It's the sunniest part of my yard and also the plants really seem to like it. The daffodils you see here were not planted last fall as you might think. Instead they are the naturalized bulbs that have come back every year over the past three to four seasons. I notice that some of my favorites never make another

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-43864152484316552002010-04-29T12:51:00.000-04:002010-04-29T12:51:28.716-04:00

JIMMY FISHBEIN FOR TIME I was lucky to hear Mr. Allen speak in NYC a few weeks on a WNYC panel about his organization, Growing Power, and his work in Milwaukee. He is an amazing thinker and speaker on the topics of urban farming and food justice. Read more about him at Time. Also there was a good article on him in The New York Times Magazine last year. Read it here. I profile his daughter Erika

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-63956353193838512232010-04-28T18:28:00.002-04:002010-04-29T09:39:33.556-04:00

One of the things about only seeing your garden once a week or so is that you really look forward to what surprises you'll find each time you arrive. Last weekend, the daffodils were the stars (more in the next post) but I also found these odds and ends around. I usually pick some flowers to take into the house—or back to the city—so I can appreciate them more closely. From left to right:  

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-80411288091592187362010-04-22T10:04:00.010-04:002010-04-22T10:27:01.477-04:00

Celebrate by watching Earth Days, a moving, insightful American Experience documentary on the history of the environmental movement. Watch it online at PBS.org here.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-40747771968234437552010-04-21T09:58:00.017-04:002010-04-21T13:04:51.047-04:00

Photographs by Alexandre BailhacheI wrote about Alan Gray and Graham Robeson's eye-popping garden, East Ruston Old Vicarage, in the March 11th issue of WSJ Magazine. This vast garden has to be seen to be believed. Mr. Gray, a consummate plantsman and very charismatic fellow, is speaking at The New York Botanical Garden on May 7th. Don't miss the chance to hear him and see more photographs of

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-4462189656462590512010-04-13T12:30:00.011-04:002010-04-22T10:24:35.613-04:00

Things happen slower upstate. Those of you who have ever tried to engage a contractor know this for fact. Out in our front lawn, we see bulb varieties that have already swooned weeks ago in the heat of our New York City April. I plan to get many more of the prim white crocus above. Her name, 'Miss Vain', suits her well. The graceful flowers remind me of the rain lilies (Zephyranthes) that used

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-55404103379944161612010-04-07T13:26:00.005-04:002010-04-07T13:33:55.205-04:00

I heard an interesting radio segment on WNYC about the introduced and endangered plant communities around New York City (such as this rare ground orchid). We've lost about 50 native plant species over the past couple of decades. Meanwhile, other new plants that once couldn't survive here now do. Listen below."Dr. Gerry Moore, director of science at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and coordinator of

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-51864519789353291272010-04-02T10:18:00.011-04:002010-04-02T11:30:01.064-04:00

After a week of dreary rain, Melissa and Lindsey come out for lunch the other day and we took a walk around the neighborhood to look for signs of spring. The crocus planted in our co-op garden last fall have have come up beautifully. I particularly love the bi-colored 'King of the Striped'. But I have a question nagging at me. Is it a mistake to buy the crocus color mixtures? I kind of think it

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-60569260207110630352010-03-29T11:38:00.002-04:002010-03-29T11:42:30.826-04:00

There's an a great looking program on urban food growing next week hosted by WNYC.More information here. And online booking here.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-63859731033455767942010-03-19T13:57:00.008-04:002010-03-29T15:31:31.251-04:00

I came across the Japanese photographer and aquarium builder, Takashi Amano, through Delphine, a new facebook friend and blogger from France. I'll admit I don't know much about Mr. Amano other than that he is well-known among aquarium hobbyists and that has published several books of his designs and photography. As someone who last had an unsuccessful aquarium in junior high school filled with

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-63481244470063998222010-03-18T01:23:00.019-04:002010-03-18T11:06:58.259-04:00

Watching Winter Turning Into Spring Playlist

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-49744919290829072902010-03-11T11:56:00.005-05:002010-03-18T02:06:53.496-04:00

"I'm as restless as a willow in a windstorm, I'm as jumpy as puppet on a string. I'd say that I had spring fever, but I know it isn't spring"We had the good fortune of seeing Blossom Dearie perform in her last years at the back bar of a Thai seafood restaurant on West 46th Street. The quirky, hidden nightspot with starfish and fishing nets on the wall was the perfect place to see her. She was a

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-23850726988921054312010-03-10T09:51:00.005-05:002010-03-10T10:01:42.359-05:00

Obviously these little gardens by artist Pete Dungey are more of an artistic statement than an act of viable horticulture. But still here at the end of winter they provide a smile and a solution to the season's new crop of potholes. Dungey is a graphic design student at the University of Brighton.Images: Pete Dungey

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-72939557185722159982010-03-06T13:56:00.006-05:002010-03-06T14:56:23.314-05:00

I appreciate indoor plants the most during these last lagging winter months of February and March. Some people say they hate houseplants but I think they are a surefire cure for S.A.D.I put these hyacinth bulbs in the refrigerator back in October and now they are have finally blossomed. What a fragrance. This variety, Blue Festival, above, is bred to have a more graceful open stalk of flowers

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-66465926112691251632010-03-05T14:34:00.001-05:002010-03-19T17:48:29.781-04:00

Branch of an Almond Tree in Blossom (1890) by Vincent Van GoghFrom The National Gallery of Art website:"The almond blossom is ubiquitous in the Japanese prints Van Gogh would have seen. But it was not merely a motif for him. The almond branch was a symbol of life itself, of life opening up and joy in its presence. This painting is one of many images he made of blossoming fruit trees. Van Gogh

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-54469052858639244942010-03-04T10:17:00.004-05:002010-03-04T10:21:42.895-05:00

I found this springy cover of a 1945 House & Garden at the 26th Street flea market the other week. Now it hangs in my office to remind me of the good old days of magazines. Can you imagine a garden magazine designing such a lovely illustrated cover today?

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-84166387715640959142010-02-26T14:22:00.007-05:002010-02-26T14:35:46.268-05:00

Chad's phone photos from the morning. The snow keeps coming. As of this posting, it has been snowing for over 27 hours.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-24607284968658160832010-02-17T19:17:00.013-05:002010-02-19T13:17:35.459-05:00

Inspiration point on Anacapa Island looking towards Santa Cruz IslandIf you've driven up Highway 101 from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara you've probably seen the dark shadowy shapes hugging the horizon offshore. These are the Channel Islands: Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara. For years my friend Barbara has been suggesting a visit. Last weekend we finally made

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-49093742364807433942010-02-10T10:50:00.009-05:002010-02-10T11:13:56.760-05:00

As I was browsing through the ancient herbal section of my bookshelf the other day, I came across a forgotten title, the odd Arzneipflanzenbuch (Medicinal Herb Book) of 1520 - 1530. Just kidding I found these images on BibliOdyssey, one of my favorite bibliophile blogs. Go see more images of these eccentric anthro- and zoomorphic hybrids here with a link to the scanned work in the Bayerische

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-90189850033610567472010-02-06T15:39:00.022-05:002010-02-07T13:01:15.751-05:00

The other day we went for a nature walk on the frozen lake at the weekend house. Don't worry. It's perfectly safe. We wait until we see the Russian fisherman driving out to setup their huts before we go on the ice every year. These photographs are my humble homage to my hero Harry Callahan. (Click photos to enlarge)We live on three lakes that are connected: White Lake, Kauneonga Lake and Amber

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-48578711448447062902010-02-02T21:04:00.005-05:002010-02-03T12:52:04.050-05:00

Ruth Gordon writing in Martha's Vineyard, July 4, 1975, Photographed by Alfred EisenstaedtYou can expect blog postings on a more regular basis now.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-11203947913779388482010-01-19T22:48:00.014-05:002010-01-22T09:04:36.864-05:00

Here I am, four years old and very happy to be sitting in my yard in Abilene, Texas in front of my favorite childhood flower (the red ones on the left). My mother called them daylilies. It must have been around early May so I always associated this once-blooming flower with the coming of summer.Judging by my haircut, it looks like the above picture was taken in the 1950s but in fact it was 1969,

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-63368590533528615022010-01-09T10:27:00.022-05:002010-01-11T09:05:03.631-05:00

Chad took this photograph just down the far corner of our street of a large Northern mountain ash or rowan (Sorbus decora) covered in red berries and snow. I like this native tree very much and often pick my route to and from the apartment to walk by it. Its white spring flowers have a strange, funky scent. Then in fall and winter, it's covered with little dangling clusters of reddish-orange

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-77680279363264311992010-01-05T11:42:00.015-05:002010-01-08T16:04:01.741-05:00

Images from my upcoming book, Tomorrow's Garden: Design and Inspiration For a New Age of Sustainable Gardening (Rodale Press, Fall 2010)Please join me as I show a photographic preview of my upcoming garden book on February 24th at the New York School of Interior Design.I am honored to be on the same Wave Hill lecture series with Patrick Cullina of the High Line and Dominique Browning my former

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-57326456777337898932009-12-31T08:59:00.005-05:002009-12-31T10:08:22.771-05:00

Lake house, December 29th, 2009 It's So Peaceful In The Country. Sung by Mildred Bailey (1907-1951), one of my favorite singers.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-66298380331558675892009-12-31T07:56:00.001-05:002010-01-03T15:03:37.785-05:00

Amaryllis (1910) by Piet Mondrian, Watercolor on paper, 39 x 49 cm (15 3/8 x 19 3/8 in), Private collectionRed Amaryllis with Blue Background. (c. 1907) by Piet Mondrian, Watercolor on paper, 18 3/8 x 13" (46.5 x 33 cm), The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-52942130768076335222009-12-30T08:47:00.017-05:002009-12-30T16:28:16.284-05:00

fThe recent well-reviewed production of A Streetcar Named Desire at BAM (I didn't make it, sigh) reminded me of another Tennessee William's play, Suddenly Last Summer. This is perhaps his most garden-y work, though it's not really about gardening at all. In its movie form, with a screenplay by Gore Vidal and starring Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor, it is indeed gay, gay,

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-40175674069741187912009-12-23T10:01:00.005-05:002009-12-23T11:14:29.496-05:00

Did you know your Christmas tree may be mechanically shaken to get rid of cute little amphibious hitchhikers? I didn't. This is one of those fun fact stories that will help bridge uncomfortable gaps in conversation at any upcoming family holiday gatherings. Read more about it here.Christmas trees showing up with live 'ornaments' (AP)

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-64180846845271689732009-12-15T11:38:00.024-05:002010-05-20T13:14:26.388-04:00

The Lime Walk at Sissinghurst Castle For the past many weeks, I have been chained (or at least bound with a fragile and only too easily broken string) at my desk trying to meet my book deadline. So I apologize for my infrequent posts. I will have so many great gardens and imagery from my book to show you in 2010. My book is on sustainable design in the smaller garden. The topic of this post, as

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-35541758811283270422009-12-09T13:44:00.010-05:002009-12-13T18:25:51.325-05:00

"Poppy, for example, is a drought resistant crop. So Afghanistan is in its 10th year of drought and years of war have destroyed the irrigation systems. So farmers will often tell you they don't really have any other crops they can physically grow - and that's a problem."—Gretchen Peters, author of Seeds of Terror: How Heroin is Bankrolling the Taliban and Al QaedaListen to yesterday's story above

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-26023224665257003092009-12-04T12:45:00.016-05:002009-12-16T19:13:46.651-05:00

Some of my earliest garden memories are of the fantastical cartoon flowers in Walt Disney movies. I especially loved the talking plants in Alice in Wonderland and all the different varieties of dancing flowers in Fantasia. As you can imagine from this revelation, I wasn't of much use on the sports field...On the occasion of the upcoming spring release of Tim Burton's new live action version for

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-8645569285789437472009-12-02T22:57:00.002-05:002009-12-02T23:08:02.002-05:00

5 days, 18 hours and 25 minutes condensend into one minute. We all know what they look like so please keep comments on a mature level.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-85997384771168997032009-12-01T12:53:00.009-05:002009-12-01T20:09:09.054-05:00

Grey Tree (1911) by Piet Mondrian Late autumn/early winter playlist

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-58983087755199444122009-12-01T08:48:00.001-05:002009-12-01T21:52:25.544-05:00

Classical Landscape—Illustration to Johnson's 'Rasselas' (1798) by Thomas de Thomon, The Courtauld Gallery, London

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-55210900709791213022009-11-30T15:26:00.005-05:002009-11-30T15:55:32.755-05:00

I started this blog last February and on the occasion of this my 100th post I thought I would show a glimpse of the technological wonder known as Google Analytics. With this tool I can see how many people stop by my blog and where they come from. Though I can't see who they are of course, I am thrilled to have readers in places so exotic—to me at least—as Iran, Angola, Yeman, Paraguay, Slovenia,

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-17829882643861716782009-11-17T20:30:00.012-05:002009-11-18T00:56:03.759-05:00

I have to admit when I first heard that British author Anna Pavord's new book was about bulbs I thought, "Oh well...". Ms. Pavord's most well known book is The Tulip, and its justly famous. However this time, I felt it might be a bit boring to run down this similar well-trodden path yet again. I already own a lot of books on bulbs, ranging from reference titles like Taylor's Guide to Bulbs to

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-36931297511556440692009-11-12T09:56:00.012-05:002009-11-18T00:55:39.162-05:00

I did a short review of Dan Pearson's intriguing new book for the New York Times today.Books written by garden designers can often turn out to be ersatz portfolios meant to promote the author’s own projects for posterity’s sake. English landscape designer Dan Pearson has written a new book that does quite the opposite.Spirit: Garden Inspiration (Fuel publishing, $45) is a gentle ramble not

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-25350642079981224142009-11-11T12:36:00.009-05:002009-11-11T13:15:50.627-05:00

I just came across these forgotten photographs from a summer weekend upstate. Our friends wanted to make terrariums in a group of lidded canisters they bought at an antique store. So they went around the yard and the forest and picked up little woodland bits to put in them. I think they look really beautiful. I hear that now that the terrariums have gone home with their makers, the ferns are

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-39770154915597337872009-11-10T09:04:00.005-05:002009-11-10T09:15:30.948-05:00

My love for the First Lady knows no bounds. I particularly appreciate the consistency of her gardening message as she helps celebrate Sesame Street's 40th birthday today.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-26154246125846443302009-11-07T13:18:00.011-05:002009-11-13T09:21:04.412-05:00

How often is it that a 16th-century Italian Renaissance garden comes up twice in the same week? Even for me, that's odd. So I thought it deserved a post. First, I was helping my friends Clay and Ross plan an upcoming trip to Italy and advised them to visit Tivoli near Rome for the justly famous twofer of Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'Este. Soon after, as I was reading English landscape designer Dan

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-61861648342641031162009-11-06T15:02:00.001-05:002009-11-07T18:07:16.286-05:00

Rudbeckia and grasses, The Lurie Garden at Millenium Park, Chicago, late September 2009

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-22750904870319149872009-11-01T21:12:00.007-05:002009-11-02T11:45:01.974-05:00

Fanciful Gardens Emerge in a City of Tan and GrayBy John LelandThe New York Times, October 31, 2009Photo: Joao Silva for The New York Times

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-10562750854494858892009-10-15T08:01:00.009-04:002009-10-19T10:58:16.666-04:00

Come see two other speakers and me if you are in the area. Click here for more information at The Garden Conservancy.Limestone & WaterPlants, Design and Inspiration for the Texas GardenA Garden Conservancy seminarSaturday, October 31 | 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, TXCosponsored by Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at AustinFour garden

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-60387863094736948832009-10-14T19:29:00.004-04:002009-10-14T19:40:32.473-04:00

Los Angelenos are finally getting rain for the first time in many many months. Hooray! Let's hope it doesn't come all at once but signals a break for the long-suffering gardeners in drought-ridden California. Read more about it at my friend Ivette's blog, The Germinatrix. (photo Ivette Soler)

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-79561507964733497412009-10-14T10:29:00.007-04:002009-10-14T11:05:48.395-04:00

Through sheer horticultural prowess Pamela Schwerdt and Sibylle Kreutzberger, her partner of 60 years (both pictured above), made the plantings at Sissinghurst world famous even after the death of the garden's charismatic owners, Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson . Read Tony Lord's informative obituary of Pamela Schwerdt, who died on September 11th, here."The pair contacted various

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-2995509130647239612009-10-13T15:10:00.011-04:002010-04-29T12:00:57.799-04:00

While working on my garden book this summer, one of my favorite discoveries was Rooftop Farms in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Not only is the 6,000 square foot, three-story high rooftop an agri-engineering marvel thanks to Chris and Lisa Goode at Goode Green Design, it is a wonderfully bucolic place to visit. During the Sunday market days (the only time the farm is open to the public), you can see

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-48568768528670657202009-10-06T22:35:00.022-04:002009-10-13T18:53:08.870-04:00

This past weekend upstate was so autumnal. It seems like we've gone from high summer to fall just like that. Temperatures feel colder than normal (at least in my estimation) and the color of the leaves has started. While I wait for the bulb order to arrive there is not much gardening to do, at least not until all the leaves are on the ground.One of the old lake cabins in our neighborhoodThe

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-18458903597392024652009-10-05T00:05:00.002-04:002009-11-07T18:08:18.481-05:00

Undergrowth with Two Figures by Vincent Van Gogh, Cincinnati Art Museum

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-63429195260221022162009-10-01T13:36:00.001-04:002009-10-13T13:44:05.842-04:00

Read my new article on a beautiful backyard renovation in Brooklyn. The New York Times, Recapturing the Terrain.Photo: Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-80362766150077885742009-09-14T21:37:00.009-04:002009-09-19T10:16:14.832-04:00

One of my first posts on this blog way back in February (an eternity in blog-time) was an appreciation of garden writer Thalassa Cruso. Over the past months, the post has been one my most searched for and viewed pages. I wonder if that's because Thalassa has such a googlable name or perhaps it's because she is so often compared to that other PBS doyenne, Julia Child.The other day Michael Weishan,

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-70293771621386777872009-09-02T09:05:00.007-04:002009-09-03T08:49:20.475-04:00

Napa residence, above, by Emmanuel Donval, Green Cherry Landscape ArchitectureAn innovative group of gardeners are putting on a new three-day garden show at Cornerstone Gardens in a few weeks that will focus on climate change, drought, sustainable practices and renewable resources. If you are in the Bay Area this fall (or would like to travel there) please buy your tickets now. They have an

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-29068731267322208612009-08-28T10:14:00.009-04:002009-08-28T10:28:49.088-04:00

This Sunday, if you find yourself up between 8 and 10 a.m. please tune in as I guest host the Garden Hotline (in NYC and surrounding areas it is on WOR AM710 Talk Radio). I will be filling in for the venerable show's host, Ralph Snodsmith, and answering callers' questions for both hours.

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-77533399130556803672009-08-19T10:58:00.006-04:002009-08-19T11:06:17.200-04:00

I got a nice comment from Lauren at The Fern & Mossery yesterday so I went to check out her blog devoted to all things terraria. It's full of more news and inspiration than you could imagine would fit into the limited space of a glass container. There is a big world of terrariums out there. Take a look for yourself!

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-51477313185662463792009-08-18T09:15:00.015-04:002009-08-19T11:06:44.558-04:00

Look what's been hiding in one of my terrariums. I bought a small nepenthes (tropical pitcher plant) at the Brooklyn Flea this past February and planted it in a lidded glass jar. A successful terrarium seems to have a diurnal cycle. They kind of fog up and even "rain" a little in the cooler morning and evening and dry out as they heat up in the daytime. My plant seemed very happy with this

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-41277690094261326282009-08-12T19:56:00.008-04:002009-08-12T22:16:52.054-04:00

My wonderful friend and urban flower farmer, Tara Kolla (above and below) at Silverlake Farms, sent me a request to put out the word about a very long-ranging problem that urban farmers are having in Los Angeles at the moment.For a number of years, Tara has grown exceedingly beautiful sweet peas, ranunculus and other flowers to sell at farmers' markets in Los Angeles. Many of you will know her

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-52253731452329370752009-08-06T10:45:00.010-04:002009-08-06T12:36:01.078-04:00

(Courtesy of Brooklyn Botanic Garden)A few weeks ago, I was asked to be one of the judges for the Greenest Block in Brooklyn Contest, an excellent program sponsored by the good folks at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Over 1,200 blocks have entered the contest since 1994.During the course of a very rainy Tuesday we looked at eight or so of the semi-finalists for the hotly contested prize. Several

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-89604765295638749402009-07-21T21:14:00.009-04:002009-07-21T23:02:20.585-04:00

Inspecting, Allan O'Connor Searches for BotrytisSometimes in our desire to be eco-green warriors we forget what an unnatural art form gardening can be. Without our almost daily care, even the most naturalistic garden will soon began its progression back to a common field. Canadian artist Scott McFarland reminds us of this symbiotic alliance between humans and plants in this series of photographs

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-38314454789840578032009-07-20T22:01:00.001-04:002009-07-21T23:02:56.384-04:00

Colonel Summers Park Community Garden, Portland Oregon. 6:15am, July 16, 2009(with apologies to Maya Angelou)

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-18192285597277771802009-07-05T06:00:00.005-04:002009-07-21T22:04:27.616-04:00

Last week I went to Aspen to see my dad and stepmother and to have a mini-family reunion with my siblings and their families. As on other visits, I was struck by how pristinely beautiful the landscape and the wildflowers are there. Plants have such a short growing season at these high elevation but the flowers seem to make up for it by blooming almost all at once. Lilacs, peonies, columbines,

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-39460738227183138252009-07-02T23:05:00.003-04:002009-07-02T23:14:58.195-04:00

I guess I've been feeling artsy lately.Mike Marshallb.1967Flood Plain, 2009Framed C-print110 x 150 cmvia Union Gallery, London"In the large scale photograph Flood Plain (2009) an arrangement of pot-plants sit amidst a vast expanse of scorched, cracked earth. Purchased from a garden centre in India, these plants were photographed and then left behind to presumably wilt, die and possibly be swept

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-35888380948294937232009-07-01T22:39:00.011-04:002009-07-02T01:36:17.418-04:00

My good friend, the artist Katrin Sigurdardottir, has two beautiful shows up in New York at the moment. I don't want to risk interpreting what she is up to for the sake of misrepresenting her (and reveal myself as the art-world nincompoop that I am).I will simply say that I immediately see two main interests: a love of landscape (especially in the folding, mossy, volcanic hills of her native

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-58574893623952402462009-07-01T11:03:00.001-04:002009-12-02T12:31:18.163-05:00

Animals and Insects Playlist

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-77123159006301416792009-06-24T13:45:00.009-04:002009-07-01T23:39:16.010-04:00

We have a new stone terrace at our upstate lake cabin. Thanks goes to Chad and our two good friends, James and David. The bluestone has been sitting out front all winter too heavy to steal, too cumbersome to move. I would like to take some credit for the terrace but I was out of town working on the book when the stones finally made their move. The boys did a beautiful job don't you think?My not

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-44340759999832006232009-06-23T14:38:00.022-04:002009-06-24T00:52:30.129-04:00

I heard on the news last night that this is the second wettest June in recorded weather history for the New York City area. Anyone who lives here can attest to that. It has rained 17 out of the last 21 days, and not days of just any rain but several where water pours solidly for an entire 24 hours. "Relentless!" I find myself muttering to no one in particular as I look out of the window.When we

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-45958628281510057592009-06-18T10:37:00.002-04:002009-06-18T10:39:50.092-04:00

My New York Times Garden Q&A for this week—Good Herbs to Tend in Pots

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-64558495249555457702009-06-17T15:17:00.006-04:002009-06-17T15:33:52.662-04:00

I hate to use the word "fabulous" but this sounds fabulous. Reserve early!“Our Backyards – The Garden Conservancy’s Tour of Garrison, NY Gardens” on Sunday, June 28.The Garden Conservancy will host a special one-day tour on Sunday, June 28 showcasing the passion and very personal, relaxed style of local gardeners — a group of accomplished designers, garden writers, community activists and

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-24419636185729590832009-06-16T20:06:00.011-04:002009-06-17T13:16:59.276-04:00

PHOTO: PAUL BEDARD"One young fellow talked about how he learned to be gentle. How being gentle was really important with the plants, with the worm that he dug up. Then he realized he needed to be gentle with his classmates and his family."—Sam Kass, White House chef and consultant on the South Lawn vegetable garden.Listen to NPR Report: Kids Enjoy White House Harvest

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-2951171577608162662009-06-15T16:10:00.019-04:002009-06-16T00:35:57.186-04:00

Insect Chorus (1917), above. Sultry Moon, belowI first heard of the American watercolor painter Charles Burchfield (1893-1967) in an art history class at the University of Texas. I loved my professor (I fondly remember her announcing in a previous class, "Now I must show you Greuze—I hate Greuze." What she did like were the early 20th century American painters such as Arthur Dove, Charles Sheeler

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8651807238000517655.post-32001233412926532642009-06-12T12:52:00.001-04:002009-06-12T12:55:52.265-04:00

My New York Times Garden Q&A for this week—Ground Cover, Within Limits

Stephen Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11781768141662403967noreply@blogger.com1