floweringangel

This is one of the most spectacular fall pics I have ever seen, worthy of a cover photo.

Zen, structure, color mix, boy are you folks lucky. Most of us with limited yard space and limited budgets can't live within the limited space allowable for our gardens. The kids, the dog, the outdoor cooking area, the spill over area from the daily activity of the garage. How about some helpful hints for
a very large population of wannabe better gardeners who have
thin borders, whose hostas are mowed over by their husband's mowers and planting distances for perrenials where the gardener
has limited space. We need to encourage garden planning and design but lets start with how much is too much, in what zone, how much is too little, answering questions like why does my
6" forced gift plant rose I planted for easter not come up again the next year, they are perrenial aren't they? The questions should not be how many you are buying, but why are you buying what your buying, do you know anything about what you are buying and do you have a plan for it?

Wow, what a blog! That ornamental shaping of hedges, bushes and trees should be defined as purely a matter of taste. Of which we know is beyond dispute. Different strokes for different folks. As a successful floral designer I wouldn't sell much of anything thing, much less design wedding flowers for the masses if I didn't provide according to the customers taste and vision. It comes from different ethnic backgrounds, cultural influences, personal tastes developed over the years, education and skill levels, supervison/lack of supervision, planning/lack of planning and the bottom line, money/lack of money and or ability. I love the examples of the 80 year old woman, and the "Italian contingent". So truthful and honest.
So is your report Billy, expressed your own way, able to rise up the fans of "insulting", to the fans likening your exposure to an appreciation of the humor and whimsy it might provoke.
Bottom line, in this age of reducing resources we need a plant and tree police dept to supervise, or provide variances, or permits to plant properly those shrubs in plain site. It'll create jobs, teach people, if started at the town level, it'll soon become as common place as a variance/permit needed from your neighbors to build a deck in your back yard. Change the rules locally, and the landscapers will start to notice when they have to pay a fine for installing shrubs and trees that die within a year or two. Sound silly? Complete lunacy? You decide.

The trained, accomplished, professional landscaper feedback is invaluable to you Roberta, but don't let any of that hardcore advice soften the molten enthusiasm that Billy G sought to broadcast. Another caveat that many in the profession haven't touched on. If you know your plants, materials and the installation plan, it may not be enough still. Take a course on entrepreneurship so you know how to supervise your teams, your books, your accountant, in other words your farm. Often, very capable people, with vision, and talent and energy get caught up in the creative or the sell, of what it is to be "your brand" and fail because no one was supervising the total package. If all the "business" part of running a business is too much or takes you away from doing what it is you wanted to all long, get a partner or a manager that can lighten the load, keep you focused and successful to the end.
Hope to see your business in the Fine Gardening Link soon.

Have you ever thought of selling some of your bulbs on line through your own site, or on ebay? I would much rather purchase
some of your spectacular bulbs with some proven history than
some big house grower or over seas for that matter. To even reduce the carbon footprint if nothing else. It would be lovely for others outside the local area to share in your spoils.

It is unfortunate that so many naysayers in the general public are so uneducated about the variety and abundance of different plant material. (see my bio). These same people are the ones that predictably ask when the flats of impatiens will arrive, want only the white/pink mix or the salmon. Know the value of hostas, and geraniums and black eyed susies. Predictable, low maintenance and reliable. God forbid someone should investigate pairing an aubergine and shock lime green sweet potatoe vine with coleus varieties and their standard hot pink impatiens. They might stumble across one of the more popular, in vogue, eye popping attractive accent combos for box and containers now available. Not any more maintenance, not any more expensive, just DIFFERENT. Talk about your curb appeal.
I think a lot of people are afraid of change, of making mistakes and unsure of how to put stuff together. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Thank you for venturing, it's nice to know you don't have to be a master or professor or big time horticulturalist to have your own voice, outside where it can shine.

Haven't I seen this amazing work in a magazine? The article spoke of how the artist took the impression to make the leaf
and then create the mold. Some were left in the ground as paver/stepping stones, are you this artist? Wow, if you are
small world? I just visited your web site and was very impressed, no need to explain the lack of credentials, they matter little anymore, what you have is desire and god given talent. I will be ordering from you as soon as I carve out a place of importance in my garden and find a fixture to create a fountain from one of your leaves for my Mom's place on the Cape.

Wow, not a stitch of work needed to be done to enjoy the beauty of the day, love to see this one in it's summer glory, it has great bones.