Loading ...Hydrangea Love
Walking through the extensive plantings of the Hydrangea Farm Nursery on Nantucket in July, one feels swept away by an undulating sea of color, awash with deep and subtle blues, subtle pinks, gradations of purple, and brilliant whites. The bushy mopheads and delicate lacecaps sway in the wind with a rhythm that is visually intoxicating.
This year marks the farm’s eleventh in business, and owners Malcolm and Mary Kay Condon have given the word retirement a new definition. Their passion for the shrub doesn’t allow them much down time after leaving behind 14 years as innkeepers of the island’s Stumble Inn. Yet it was in the garden of the inn that they first became enamored with the hardy cultivar. Their love affair with this quintessential Nantucket shrub began with just two plants in pretty poor shape. Read more…
- Posted in Arts & Culture, Gardens
Cape Cod Life at the Boston Flower & Garden Show
Thanks to everyone who came to the 2011 Boston Flower & Garden Show! We launched our exciting new publication, Cape Cod GARDENS, at the show this week. This special issue is coming soon to subscribers and newsstands as the April issue of Cape Cod LIFE.
A Special Thanks to
Antique Asylum • Cataldo Custom Builders • Dewey Gardens
Miskovsky Landscaping • Paine’s Patio • Picnic Fashion • Walpole Woodworkers
View more photos!
Take a look at the Cape Cod Life pergola and other exhibits at the Boston Flower & Garden Show.
360º Panorama!
Take a 360º tour from inside the Cape Cod Life pergola.
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- Posted in Art, Arts & Culture, Gardens
Boston Flower & Garden Show: 360º Panorama
- Posted in Art, Arts & Culture, Gardens
Boston Flower & Garden Show: Cape Cod Life Photos
Take a look at the Cape Cod Life pergola and other exhibits at the Boston Flower & Garden Show. We launched our exciting new publication, Cape Cod GARDENS, at the show this week. This special issue is coming soon to subscribers and newsstands as the April issue of Cape Cod LIFE.
- Posted in Art, Arts & Culture, Gardens
Cape Cod GARDENS 2011
- Posted in Arts & Culture, Gardens
Cape Cod GARDENS
Watch for the new Cape Cod LIFE Gardens edition appearing in April 2011 featuring:
- In-depth features on Cape and Islands gardens with superb photography
- How-to advice and schematics from experienced gardeners
- Columns by horticultural experts in landscape design, vegetable and perennial gardens, water features… and more!
This special issue will be sent to all Cape Cod LIFE subscribers, and will be available on newsstands nationwide. You can also pick up a copy at this year’s Boston Flower Show Flower Show Book Store!
For editorial information, call Susan Dewey at 508-419-7381 x19 or e-mail sdewey@capecodlife.com
For advertising information, call 508-419-7381 x33 or your sales representative, or e-mail ltaylor@capecodlife.com
- Posted in Arts & Culture, Gardens, Nature
Garden Inspirations
When I was three, we moved to a French Norman-style brick house with leaded glass windows situated on a level bit of land halfway up a hill. The house was surrounded by mature trees and long-abandoned gardens. My mother, though pregnant with my brother, took it upon herself to bring back the formal perennial beds and rock gardens as best she could. She weeded out low rock retaining walls revealing Hens and Chicks, Candytuft, and Creeping Phlox. Read more…
- Posted in Arts & Culture, Gardens
Holly Haven
This well-known holiday symbol is actually one of the most diverse and intriguing members of the plant kingdom. Over the last 30 years, Cannon has managed to cultivate over 300 varieties of holly at his Brewster residence, and in the process has become known as Cape Cod’s Holly Man. Read more…
- Posted in Arts & Culture, Gardens
Sole Food
My initial reaction upon being offered the assignment of writing a story on Cape Cod winter walks was a mortified and stupefied, “Me?”
I’ve never been much of a walker, unless the journey included 18 holes featuring fairways, bunkers, and greens. When I did walk, I just about ran, as though the undertaking were something to endure-—think root canal surgery-—rather than to savor like a vintage wine. But exploring wonderful Cape Cod winter walks seemed like a fine idea, combining exercise, fresh air, and an opportunity for reflective isolation that is usually unavailable in these parts during peak summer season. Read more…
- Posted in Arts & Culture, Nature, Places
Backyard Bounty
Cape Cod and the Islands are bountiful sources for holiday decorating with lots of natural materials right outside your back door. Let’s start with holly, which grows in such abundance on Cape Cod that we often rip it out like a weed. This is still slightly amazing to me, since we used to pamper, fertilize, and pray over our hard-to-please holly bushes when we lived in Central Massachusetts. The Cape is what’s known as a holly belt and the prickly native holly, Ilex opaca, flourishes here. I was astonished our first Cape Christmas at the sight of a giant holly tree completely covered with brilliant red berries. It looked as though a child had taken a red crayon and dotted the deep green foliage with thousands of berries. Read more…
- Posted in Gardens, Traditions
