Rose of Sharon.
Plant that makes you swoon:
Podophylum, arisaema, trillium, erythronium, saxifrage, skunk cabbage, epimedium.
Hardest gardening lesson you’ve learned:
I thought I had a shade garden. My shade plants proceeded to fry.
Unpopular gardening opinion:
Colorful flowers are overrated.
Gardening or design trend that needs to go:
While tastes in gardens seem to have moved away from impatience borders, in cut flowers I find most people are painfully stuck in highly commercial design where the flowers look aggressively store-bought. The majestic prairies that have entered our garden lexicon should find their way to the vase.
Favorite gardening hack:
I’ll offer a cut flower tip: boil your stems. After a fresh cut, a minute in boiling water will revive and prolong the life of many (nay, most) stems.
Favorite way to bring the outdoors in.
This is my job, so I like to do something understated. A sprig or a weed.
Every garden needs a…
Stone wall. I’m mad for rocks.
Favorite hardscaping material:
Rocks from my family’s mountainside home in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.
Tool you can’t live without:
My giant pole lopper, though sometimes I get over-zealous.
Go-to gardening outfit:
I wear whatever I had on that day and ruin it.
Favorite nursery, plant shop, or seed company:
My friends at Landcraft and Issima bring me unmatched treasures. [See our Quick Takes with Issima founder Taylor Johnston here.] I recently discovered Mount Venus Nursery in Dublin. And the soon-to-be The Field Nursery in the Cotswolds that I cannot wait to experience.
On your wishlist:
Oliver’s Arisarum proboscideum From Mount Venus Nursery.
Not-to-be-missed public garden/park/botanical garden:
Sakonnet Garden in Little Compton, Rhode Island.
The REAL reason you garden:
A collaboration with the living world needs no explanation.
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