Posts in Floral Design
"Rooms in Bloom" at the Hill-Stead Museum

I was honored to have been selected as one of 13 floral designers to showcase my designs at the Hill-Stead Museum’s “Rooms in Bloom” event last weekend in what was my largest installation to date. After all, I don’t do weddings, and I don’t do funerals!

I created six designs for the house—three for the first floor’s front entry hall and three for the same hall space upstairs. I based my designs on the original gardens of the Hill-Stead, as planned by Beatrix Farrand. I used, in the end, 14 flowers original to the property and was thrilled to find historically accurate colors, as well. I’ll post photos of several of my designs below and explain my thinking behind each piece. But first, a bit of history on the Hill-Stead and the treasures it holds.


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The Boston Flower and Garden Show 2019--Success!

The 2019 Boston Flower and Garden Show was nothing short of fabulous! With floral competitions, complete gardens, every plant and flower that you could possibly imagine—plus tons of educational opportunities—spring was definitely in the air!

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“A Sconset Experience”...The 64th Annual House and Garden Tour

As always, the Nantucket Garden Club’s Annual House and Garden Tour was a smashing success. Thanks go out to the homeowners who were so gracious in allowing the NGC to show their houses and gardens, to the Tour sponsors and to the Club members and other volunteers who helped make the Tour a success yet again.

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Historic Garden Week in Virginia....It Can't Come Soon Enough!!!

Gloucester VA and Daffodils go together! A little bit of history on the Historic Garden Week homes and gardens on the 2018 Tour.

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Beyond Mums...Time to Update Your Outdoor Spaces!

It is October 15. A little late for my fall window boxes and urns, but that's ok. If there are still apples on the trees (which I discovered to be the case yesterday when I went apple picking with some of my favorite people!), then the time is still right to install some fall plantings and floral displays. And my window boxes certainly deserve to have some life injected into them after my summer of horrible neglect. (Actually, I was performing an experiment with them...I called it "Weeds or Winners? Established Plantings and Benign Neglect." Let's just say that Proven Winners are Proven Winners for a reason!! And Sweet Potato Vine is a Betsy Winner for the 7th year in a row...it goes straight from summer right into fall. Love it! Oh, and I've found one really great looking weed, too. I just can't figure out what it is...a project for another day.) 

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Nantucket Garden Club's Community Green Thumb Flower Show 2017

Bartlett’s Farm is a great place to start your “Green Thumb Training” if you’ve never tried to grow anything yourself. They have gorgeous topiaries, but they also have a fantastic selection of Proven Winners in stock, and I make my pilgrimage there every summer for my window box needs. Love their garden center!

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