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The good garden blog is about sharing garden inspiration and ideas from historic gardens around the world and some right next door. Garden stories explore garden history, design, and the garden people behind famous and not-so-famous gardens. My garden photographs span dozens of places across 5 continents. Please join me in celebrating good garden design.
I learn something new every time I visit a garden. What struck me the most about Russel Wright’s home and studio, Manitoga, was how he used garden paths as his organizing principle for the landscape. Everything is selected and arranged so that the visitor has a deliberate experience...
Read MoreNothing is more fun than having a friend take you through one of their favorite landscapes. On my recent visit to the Hudson River valley, I had the luck to run into a friend who introduced me to Manitoga – pioneering designer Russel Wright’s home and studio. “What, you’ve never been to Manitoga? Let’s go!”
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A 7 year old Ficus nerifolia. The miniature landscape painted on the container represents an ideal for the bonsai artist.
Flowering trees make wonderful bonsai. In addition to their shape, structure, and texture, here a flowering hibiscus adds a pop of color.
An over 20 year old white cedar. Note that the tree is growing on an angle as if shaped by time and the elements.
A drift of moss creates added interest – an imaginary place to sit and read a book – on this 20+ year old white cedar.
This 6 year old juniper has been trained into a traditional style of bonsai called “cascade.”
The contorted trunk of this 8 year old Fukien tea makes it special. The plant is named after the Chinese province from which it originated.
Fox Valley Bonsai Society membersarrange a selection of outdoor bonsai on tables where they can be appreciated from all sides.
“We all love trees, old trees have meaning. So what if you could grow a tree in the palm of your hand? How amazing is that! That is what bonsai is about.” The Fox Valley Bonsai Society makes the ancient art of penjing and bonsai accessible and fun...
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