Settling In

Almost all of the tiny plants that Ray and I planted in tufa in late May are settling in.  I'm amazed at how mossy the tufa is already.

Available Troughs

People often ask me if I sell troughs (yes!) and if so, what I have available.  The six planters pictured above are all in need of good homes.  Round ones are $65; the rectangular one is $85.  

I'm in north NJ, outside NYC.   If you're interested, shoot me an email and we'll figure out logistics.

Acadia

We spent the last week of June in Maine, partly in Acadia National Park.  I'd never been to Maine before, and between the lobster, the craft beers and the scenery, my face hurt from smiling the whole week.  I shot the above photo in the parking lot (!) in Acadia, near Otter Cliff.  I love the mix of texture and colors.  That sheep laurel is tough to grow at home, but was all over the park.

Our discussion while hiking with the kids focused on wood elves, trolls and faeries.  No wonder why.  The whole place feels magical.

Moss grout?

A little campanula growing quite close to the ocean.

The three-toothed cinquefoil, potentilla tridentata, was everywhere.  I probably photographed it 25 times.  What a beauty.  It was humbling as a trough gardener to see how Mother Nature combines alpines and rocks.  I'm just a piker.

I love the combo of rock, lichen, moss and evergreen.

Painters talk about maintaing the 'wet edge' as they work.  Here's a drippy moss version.

The micro view on Mount Cadillac.  A stunted evergreen takes shelter in the lee of a rock.

The macro view from Mount Cadillac, with islands and the Atlantic in the background.

Can't wait to get back there sometime.