Comments for tracylive.com

Comment on Sow annual poppy seeds now by Mary

Mary — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:20:51 +0000

I too was inspired…but alas. most of my poppies were weakand stringy. what did I do wrong? They had full sun.

Comment on A few thoughts about garden soil by Beth Daye

Beth Daye — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 03:30:46 +0000

Hi Tracy. Great video! You answered all the soil questions. This is especially appropriate for me as I am about to build my raised beds for my vegetables. Thanks for the great info

Comment on Gardens by Dianne Foster

Dianne Foster — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:14:23 +0000

I very much enjoyed seeing your presentation at Newton South High School (in spite of the lighting problems). I immediately went out and bought two of your books: The Well-Designed Mixed Garden, and the one your lecture on April 2, 2009, was based on, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants. And now I have ordered a few of the plants themselves (in 3′s and 5′s, for my 1/3 acre). I am a fast reader, and your lecture gave me a lot to focus on as well. Having lived in my house more than 20 years, and having a notion of the effect of weather and sunshine on the plants there, I have begun to suss out what might and might not work. I gleaned one interesting point from the Well-Designed book – that 70%, if not more, of one’s garden should be something reliably low maintenance. Because Massachusetts is not blessed as is my childhood home of California, with quite the same situation (lack of abundant skilled agricultural labor, for instance – my brother has five garden maintenance people working five day weeks during the various high seasons for something or other, like pruning), and because I am not as rich as my brother, I have tried to learn from the few people I have ever hired (and from conversations with my brothers horticulturally trained gardener). But now I am going to attempt something other, thanks to you, than the reliable heaths like rhododendrons and taxus which never let me down, but are very, very limited in impact throughout most of the year. I have already purchased, and started in felt pots, some Chinese peonies (something I sort of know how to deal with, and I also have the kind people at Cricket Hill, Connecticut, to help me sort things out). They are not going to be low-maintenance exactly, but neither are the lilacs near them. That’s for one section of the garden.

But now I have, at your instigation, agastache, Joe Pye, geraniums, asters, etc., most of which are being brought into a sunny and neglected stretch of west-facing lawn, lugubriously brooded over at the present by some very healthy, but very formal taxus (or is that taxis?) – who are waiting for their fares, the aforementioned cheerful plants, to contrast with their dark background – I don’t have the heart to tear out the taxus just yet, and probably need to see how they work as a dark backdrop).

I also have some wet partial shade, and the Darwinian process which has already selected for Swamp Magnolia (bay laurel) and summersweet clethra, as well as some azaleas and rhodies, can now be assisted with some of your “toughies” from the list, such as itea, ligularia, as well as more temperamental phlox (?). With angelica gigas and Thalictrum a little higher up out of the place that always gets flooded in bad weather.

Anyway, thanks for making the process of livening up the yard a lot easier (I hope) with some of the 50 plants you proposed as labor-saving and great.

-Dianne

Comment on May I design a garden for you? by Beth Daye

Beth Daye — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:40:17 +0000

You can design a garden for me anytime. What a thrill that would be!

Beth

Comment on May I design a garden for you? by guild-rez

guild-rez — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:24:36 +0000

Tracy,
design a garden for us..would have been wonderful over 20 years ago!!
But I am looking forward meeting you, April 15, 2009 at the Toronto Botanical Garden,
Lecture Hall. Hope you will sign my books too!!
-Cheers Gisela

Comment on A website for women 50+, VibrantNation.com by Beth Daye

Beth Daye — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:58:56 +0000

Great set of topics and the blogsite as a whole “VibrantNation” looks really interesting. Thanks for the lead.

Comment on Saving time and money in the garden by michelle

michelle — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:34:04 +0000

Thank you for writing such wonderful books. I would share my Well Tended Perennial Garden book with my neighbor and she loved it so I purchesed one for her for Christmas. I am planning on Landscaping a new bed up by my house and it is in shade and some of it is in sun. Well with the economy the way it is now I am so afraid to spend money on the plants and then not like them down the road. I simply love perenialls LOVE them. But not to sure about the front of a house and alll that shade . I dont have anything in right now but have been adding compost for last few well 4 years so soil should be great. Just not sure what to put in plant wise and shrub wise to have a clean kept appearance. I dont mind starting small Have any Ideas?

Comment on Sow annual poppy seeds now by Beth Daye

Beth Daye — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:30:16 +0000

Tracy, you have inspired me to plant poppies this year. My yard is so bare. I bought a couple packets of seeds and tomorrow I’m going to sprinkle them in the bare spots. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Comment on Sow annual poppy seeds now by Kylee from Our Little Acre

Kylee from Our Little Acre — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:32:11 +0000

Tracy, I remember very well the California poppies when I visited your garden two summers ago. There were a few in the bed right in front of your house by the porch and I was really struck by the randomness of seeing them scattered here and there amongst the perennials. I loved the effect and came home vowing to do the same. With California poppies. I got lots of foliage last summer and only one bloom! Is there a trick to them? Is this the trick…to sow them now?

Comment on Gardens by Heidi Kozar

Heidi Kozar — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 20:51:27 +0000

Hi Tracy.
I was thrilled today while I was out in the garden weeding and listening to Joe Lamp’l's podcast to hear his interview with you. I have been a huge fan since you last spoke at the Gardening Symposium in Pittsburgh at Chatham College. And I am all signed up for this year. Congrats on the Tri successes too. (My husband entered his first last summer in Pittsburgh and now is thoroughly hooked.) My running days are behind me, too much damage from an ACL tear but I am on my bike most mornings.

I am so excited I found your website and it is beautiful. You are a gardening “rock star” and we need more of them in this industry.

See you next Saturday. I am planning on buying your new book and if I get up the nerve I will ask you to sign it if there is time set aside for signing. I refer to your other books constantly.

Regards,
Heidi Kozar