Double Rainbows over the Milk House!

Sunday night, after a short sharp downpour, the sun came out and these rainbows appeared over the milkhouse. It was still raining gently in the sunshine when this shot was taken!!

Old Westbury Gardens on Long Island are a delight in any season. Yesterday I went there to organize a meeting for the autumn. This walled garden is the most famous and rightly so. Even with the drought and terrific overnight storms (the site had no power when we got there), the gardens were beautiful and lush.

The lotus garden - one in bloom on the right front - is framed by a striking blue/green pergola arcade. When you stand in the right spot the arches of the pergola match up with the reverse arched walls to make a series of circles.

Amazing red striped water lily pads with purple flowers, too bad my photo doesn't capture them as they were.

A cottage for a Swedish summer night - everyone wanted to relax on the bed!! The cupola and clerestory windows gave it a lot of light and ventilation. Think of what you would do with an ordinary kit garden shed and some imagination.

A retreat for a writer nestled in the garden, its' doors thrown open to the breezes. Notice how each cottage has used a different roof line. These changes make all the difference - the paint colors help too!

From the back, is this the cottage of the wicked witch? A 'thatched' roof of bare branches lends a mysterious air to this shed. Top photo shows the inside ceiling which is upholstered with birch trunks.

Do Cottages Grow in Your Garden?

A recent visit to the Berkshire Botanical Gardens in Stockbridge, MA turned up these charming cottages scattered throughout the landscape. Five designers, working with the same stock garden shed, came up with very different ideas. This is a pastiche on an 18C privy - it's a four-holer in there.

The Newport Flower Show is 15 years old this year. Susan was part of the very first one, when she decorated a bedroom at Rosecliff, the Newport mansion where the show is held (above). Fifteen years later, the show is impressive with many many entries in design, horticulture and photography. Cascades of white tented booths radiate out from the mansion toward Bellvue Avenue and toward the Atlantic, housing booths of marvelous garden tools, plants, gifts, jewelry, hats and more. While a jaunty band plays on the waters edge, people of all ages congregate at small tables and have lunch.

Talented Laura Haley, of Harrison NY, stands next to her entry in "High and Mighty", an interpretation of the Aswan Dam. Laura not only won the class but also the coveted GCA Certificate of Excellence!

Newport Flower Show

This masterful arrangement won a class called: "Floral Delights - Earth"