Comments on: Gardens http://www.tracylive.com Best-selling author - Professional speaker - Horticulturist - Designer - Triathlete Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:20:51 +0000 hourly 1 By: Dianne Foster http://www.tracylive.com/gardens/comment-page-1/#comment-806 Dianne Foster Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:14:23 +0000 http://www.tracylive.com/?page_id=89#comment-806 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 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

]]> By: Heidi Kozar http://www.tracylive.com/gardens/comment-page-1/#comment-748 Heidi Kozar Sat, 07 Mar 2009 20:51:27 +0000 http://www.tracylive.com/?page_id=89#comment-748 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 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

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