The 2007 GC Directory is out - and it's going to be another
marathon! The choices are simply terrific - and difficult - because you cannot possibly take them all in.
From April through September, there will be 20 Open Days in
New Jersey, 77 Open Days in New York's Hudson Valley and
Long Island, and a mind-boggling 45 in Connecticut. . .
included are the private gardens of some notable designers
and writers (many for "Fine Gardening") such as Lee Reich,
Page Dickey, Bunny Williams, Lynden Miller and Steve Silk
among others. There's also a rare glimpse at the work being done by the GC to restore Greenwood Gardens in Short
Hills. If you're looking for ideas and inspiration, here's
your chance. . .and in case you haven't noticed, I confess
to being a "garden junky" (as well as a "nursery collector"). . .addiction is hell. . .

Carl

Would you like me to send you last year's directory just
so you can see how it works, without committing to membership? Or: you and anyone else who's interested can
just let me know what weekend you're available and join
me on a tour or two - I'll even let you buy a couple of my
"member's only" $2.50 entry fee tickets!

Carl

Carl

Here's a funny OT story: When I first moved here, I had a dog who was depressed from being moved from a suburban to a rural setting, so I got him a friend. Well, the friend was just plain bad - she was a terrier mix who could worm her way through the smallest opening in the fence.

The first time she ran away, she was brought home by the local police department, sitting proudly in the backseat of the police car.

The second time she ran away, she ended up at the pound. I went down to pay her bail and was asked if I wanted to know where she was found. That didn't sound good, but I hesitantly said yes.

Well, she been found at a neighbor's house. She'd got through their fence and into their yard. Their house had a cat door which this dog used to gain entry to the house. From there, she found the owners asleep in their bedroom, got in bed with them and began licking the husband's face. He pushed her away once, thinking it was his cat. But she persisted and the second time he reached out to give her a good shove and realized that the hair he felt was not his cat's hair. I guess he turned on the light and saw this dog sitting on his bed with a big smile on her face.

They called the police who came and got her and took her to the pound.

It was Martin's and Ruby's house the dog had entered.

A few days after this episode, they were having an open garden so I stopped by to apologize for the dog's bad behavior. They were so kind and just laughed about it.

Since that time, Ruby has been gracious in sharing her knowledge and some of her plants with me.

I would also run don't walk to Greenwood Gardens in Short Hills. I went several years ago when the restoration was just starting and it was beautiful--untamed and wild. I can't imagine what restoration will do, but there's one thing for sure, it will still be beautiful.

Yes, and no. . .while some do repeat annually, others you
kick yourself for missing and pray they'll turn up again some day! In the directory, after each indivual garden listing, there is a bold-face date indicating the last year
that garden was open, or it will say NEW. . .in this years
New York/New Jersey listings, a quick scan showed more than
25 new gardens - but I'll be first in line to see a couple
of the repeats from last year, they were that good!

Incidentally, I may not have mentioned that after each
state's listings, there are listings of Public Gardens in
that state - some real treasures have turned up this way,
The Leonard J. Buck Garden (for example) in Far Hills, or
The Presby Memorial Iris Garden, in Upper Montclair.