Author Archives: Cathy

Any good garden is a garden of immigrants. A foundation planting composed solely of Japanese holly, Nandina, Liriope and Pachysandra  is a sterile old-fashioned, unenlightened landscape, of which I have seen many that linger into the 21st century, offering little … Continue reading →

It’s Lily Watch in the hollow, as the old Regales slowly swell in the warmth of June. Lillum regale, the classic Chinese trumpet lily, was introduced to the West in 1915 by the famed plant hunter, Ernest ‘Chinese’ Wilson, who literally … Continue reading →

The habit of a beech grown in the open is like a globe half buried in the earth. To me, it’s one of the most beautiful sights of nature. We are fortunate to have a property large enough for two … Continue reading →

February is the month of ‘Diane’ in the hollow. A ruby-red cultivar of hybrid Asian witchhazels (Hamamellis x intermedia), I celebrate her each year at this time, the time of Eros, the time of love. Her twigs force like a … Continue reading →

When you live long enough to notice a change in the rhythm of the land – beyond the vicissitudes of drought cycles; remnants of hurricane winds and rains racing up from the east and Gulf coasts in summer and fall; … Continue reading →

The last of the Nasturtiums have finally withered, eking out their autumn orangeness into the landscape, bleeding into our woodland filigree of coppery golden beech, sassafras and witchhazel, punctuated by the maroon dogwoods which are more vivid this year than … Continue reading →

One of our favorite quotes here in the hollow is Henry James’ “Summer afternoon – summer afternoon, to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” This summer I picked Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus … Continue reading →

The hickories are heavy with their nuts at the edge of the meadow. Queen Anne’s Lace, Black-Eyed-Susan, Yarrow, Butterfly Weed, and Switch Grass spangle the sunny spots of our little swath. All you need for a meadow is a properly … Continue reading →

Daffodil and pine are one of my husband’s signature arrangements, the sharp green needles and tender yellow blooms presenting a perfect picture of late winter morphing into early spring. Along with bi-colored ‘Ice Follies’, the little yellow ‘Tete-a-tete’s’ are just … Continue reading →

A good month away from the equinox and vibrant color wakes up the winter doldrums. Brand new ribbons of  witchhazel contrast with wrinkled amethyst berries of Callicarpa dichotoma, Japanese beautyberry. Beautyberries, like viburnums, are one of the last berries to … Continue reading →