Pocket Faerie Gardens

09/01/2025

One of the beds after a round of maintenance today. This client likes color and fullness, and mix of a wild and ornamental look, which is always interesting to plan for. Those milkweeds in the lawn are covered with caterpillars. I must have seen a hundred on the property today. Makes my heart happy.

08/28/2025

Not finished with this project, but some before and afters from an hour or two of work here. Lots of beautification to do yet. But the bamboo is no longer dominating this stream bed. I hope to get it looking up to s***f and then some on my next visit to this property.

08/24/2025

Did you know that apple trees don't exist in nature? They're grafted, meaning they are wild apples surgically connected to the root system of something completely different. This is actually what they look like in the summertime. They have special pruning requirements so the apples don't get too heavy, and so that you can reach them. This is why crabapple trees and apple trees don't look the same -- it's all in the way you take care of them. Luckily, I'm able to tackle both these days. Winter is the right time to prune true apples. I'll be doing some myself, though I don't have nearly as much work cut out for me as they do here at Hilltop Orchards: Home of Furnace Brook Winery, Berkshires, MA.

08/22/2025

I took a trip to Whitney's recently to get inspired. These are some of my favorite options for New England gardens.
Speedwells, better known by the Latin 'Veronica', have a lot of cute varieties, and as you can see, the bees love them.
Onion flowers, better known as 'Allium', are up there with my all-time favorites. They are always covered in pollinators, even after they don't look as beautiful anymore, and the heads they leave behind are interesting to look at.
And then we have a native! Asclepias tuberosa, commonly known as butterfly milkweed, is a true native to Berkshire County. Its been here since before the Mayflower landed, so it has a very important and special relationship with our native butterflies and large bees. They are so easily misidentified as weeds when they're young, but I always leave them.
Don't forget about your pollinators! Plant some of these guys! Oh, and check out Whitney's Farm Market & Garden Center. It's beautiful there.

08/22/2025

I'm terrible at before and afters, but believe me, nature had taken this baby back. Looks much better with the fresh mulch I'm putting down. A bit more work, mulch, and some new stone for the edges, and you won't even know it was so out of control.

04/18/2025

Haven't posted in a while, but I'm still doing my thing. I always forget to take before photos...

07/08/2024

06/09/2024

Big news. I'm talking to my church's vestry today about donating my time to install some gardens! Fingers crossed they like my thoughts!

06/02/2024

Some beautiful photos of nature being nature

05/31/2024

I planted these sweet woodruff in the forest last year with a bleeding heart. Came back to see how my secret garden was doing. I believe sunlight was a bit of an issue for the dicentra, but so happy just to see that it's clung to life.

05/31/2024

A very satisfying re-mulching project. This bed had been previously filled with black mulch. This is a terrible product, usually made with factory pallets that have sometimes been treated so that the mulch doesn't break down into compost the way that true mulch would. I was able to convince this client to switch to a natural shredded bark, and the plants will be much happier now!
On a sidenote, it's important to remember that mulch becomes compacted and filled with crusty patches of mycelium over time. It's important to turn up your mulch once a year, even if you are adding more mulch on top, and over time it may becomes necessary to remove all of the old product that isn't breaking down well. This is something I recommend on a situational basis. You may not know when your mulch needs replacing, but I will always point my clients toward the best gardening practices and products.

05/31/2024

A new little aquilegia chrysantha seeded itself in my garden. Isn't she beautiful? 😍