For years I’ve requested an APLD (Assoc. of Professional Landscape Designers) Conference in Boston. I’d heard it was a beautiful city with lovely architecture and I knew there had to be fabulous gardens.  This year my dream came true and I traveled to Boston to view gardens in peak July bloom.  Fellow designers living in the area were show casing their work at client’s properties and their own homes.  On the first day, in the first garden, I knew I’d come to the right place at the right time.

Now, you may ask what I could gain touring gardens with plants that won’t grow in South Texas?  The answer is inspiration, design details and renewed appreciation for plants and objects we might consider common place.  For instance, I never expected to see Mexican metal garden animals occupying center stage on pristine New England lawns!  Likewise typical Corpus Christi garden tropicals – Hawaiian Ti, banana and canna lily were prominent accents displayed in pots for the summer and returned to greenhouses for winter. 

The “icing on the cake” was a chance to view the privately owned, newly restored “Blue Garden” designed by Frederick Law Olmstead Jr. in 1908. This formal estate garden contained numerous blue and white annuals, perennials, trees and decorative objects that most South Texas homeowners could use to create their own cool, serene blue garden….no estate required!

And what can I say about the secret garden tucked away at a rural Rhode Island farmhouse except, “I want one!”

Join me at Gill Nursery on September 30th at 9:00 a.m. and I’ll take you on a photographic tour of these gardens. You too, will be inspired to create a new garden experience at your home. Thanks Boston!

-Kathy Hubner