Sunset 8:45PM

It was the craziest sky I had ever seen, with puffy clouds like gigantic kernels of popcorn all aflame. It was a consolation for having had to cancel our picnic by the river because of the storm.

Another grey day

It was yet another grey, damp and melancholic morning. The plants bent over under the weight of rain from the night before. The benches were still wet in the pavilion of the Japanese garden at the BBG. I lingered here thinking how much my father would have loved this place, especially on a day like this, when the place is silent and empty of tourists. 

Everyone I know has been waiting in vain for summer to appear, and yet, in the garden, summer has been quietly settling in. The summer flowers have come in full force, including these massive clumps of the tiniest delicate blooms, Sorbaria kirlowii, their color white, so pristine and striking against the dark foliage. They cheered me up.

New York

New York Places and Pleasures by Kate Simon, fifth printing 1960, cover design by Elaine Lustig and Jay Maisel. 

I really like the graphic of this cover.  After having lived here on and off for almost 20 years, I am finally learning about the city and appreciating it from many different perspectives. As Shakespeare wrote, "what is the city but its people?" (Coriolanus), my experience of New York has until now been shaped mostly by the people I've come into contact with here. But lately, I am learning to look at the city in its actual physical elements and learning about what makes it one of the greatest cities in the world. 

Garden Tour in Garrison

Our Backyards

Sunday, June 28, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Garrison, New York

The Garden Conservancy invites friends and neighbors to Our Backyards — a special one-day tour showcasing the passion and very personal, relaxed style of our region's gardeners — a group of accomplished designers, garden writers, community activists and environmentalists working and living in the Hudson River Valley, home to Garden Conservancy headquarters.

Join us for our picnic lunch in Deborah Needleman's garden and continue on with self-guided tours of some of our favorite backyards, including the gardens ofSharon & Chris Davis, Grace Kennedy & Tim D'Acquisto, Marilyn Young & Eric Erickson, and Joan Turner. You'll receive directions to these and several more surprise visits upon receipt of your registration. The day will also feature "Green Tutorials" by photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo and writer Cynthia Kling and will conclude with a wine reception at the home of Bill Burback & Peter Hofmann at Garrison's Landing on the banks of the Hudon River.

For your convenience, park at the Garrision Train Station in the morning. A big yellow school bus will shuttle you to the various gardens. Directions provided upon receipt of registration.

Registration Fee: $40

Advanced tickets are required, so
Register Online
Or call (845)265-2029

I am giving a talk on garden photography this sunday, and I absolutely hate speaking in public. 

Sunrise

The sky seen from my window at 5:15 this morning. Despite such a promising start to the day, by 11 o'clock it was raining again. It's been a very soggy couple of weeks.

Refuges d'Art by Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy has started an art trail in Provence, creating his site-specific works, including a couple of shelters where visitors can stay overnight, along a 105 km walking trail around Digne-les-Bains. Just another reason for me to want to go to France.

Summer blooms

I am constantly amazed at the complexity and variety of architecture in flowers. The summer is fully on at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and today I loved seeing the Filipendula border exploding with sprays of tiny flowers. The Chinese ground orchid (Bletilla striata) and the Campanula takesimana were also wonderful to behold, each so distinctive in their forms, but all examples of the wondrous ways evolution has finessed these flowers to one single end – to encourage pollination.