I don’t know why the previous inhabitants of this house kept the yard so wet. “Over watered”, I noted when I originally saw it. But it’s since occurred to me that the purpose might have been to suppress the gophers and preserve the lawn while they were attempting to pass the house off to us. […]

I know: it sounds like an expensive dinner item in a fancy Chinese restaurant menu. Really fancy. After my travels through Asia, I can imagine such a dinner item. However, the subject is a new arrangement of Densaburo Oku’s glass and metal fish sculptures. We decided to bring them closer to the viewers for this, […]

Recently I bought a small collection of large trees and shrubs from a group of local nurserymen and conifer enthusiasts. Over twelve years ago, after purchasing Fordhook Farm, the core of the old historic Burpee estate, from the family, I brought in a series of garden designers and landscape architects—some local, some distant, some famous, […]

In today’s battered real estate market, tiny shoots of green are not only pushing up through the ground, but also pushing property values, if not sky high, at least back up to par, especially for those preparing to sell their homes. Curb appeal—the catnip of home buyers everywhere—can be defined as the physical, visual context […]

For the first of two Open House weekends, we received nearly 1,200 guests over the two days, Saturday and Sunday. Much fun was had by all. In spite of forecasts, Saturday brought gorgeous late spring weather—sunny, breezy and comfortably cool. Sunday was cooler and lightly overcast, but bright enough to see the many delicate blooms, […]

Nearly all scholars agree that the invention of agriculture 10,000 years ago was the wellspring of human civilization, innovation and creativity. Not so Jared Diamond. The geographer and author of “Guns, Germs and Steel” famously declared agriculture’s adoption the “worst mistake in the history of the human race” and a “catastrophe from which we have […]

The morning of April 29th, I was up with the birds—and 2 billion of my fellow earthlings—to watch the British royal wedding.  The newlyweds were radiant; the event sparkled with romance and pageantry.  But what snapped open my sleepy eyes were the too-brief glimpses of the royal parks, gardens and lawns. I was impressed with […]

Dawn is breaking now by 5:30 on California’s central coast. I like to see the day start from high up in the hills, and don’t like the heat of the Sun, so I try to get my walking done early. [Photo 1: Ceanothus spinosus flower at dawn.] Besides I have children to send off to […]

In the famous art song “Where’er You Walk” by Handel, the branches of trees bend to provide shade for the singer’s beloved. I had a similar experience last week. I was inspecting the first flowers of my Magnolia tree, when one of the lovely blossoms beckoned me over, with a soft and delicate voice but […]

In the 1986 science fiction thriller Aliens, a party of soldiers and advisors has an encounter on a far distant planet with the movie’s monsters. This encounter makes clear to them that these creatures are virtually unstoppable by ordinary means. The main character advocates that they “dust off” and nuke the entire area from orbit. […]