About 10 years ago, I moved
from Manhattan, NY to the country, Austerlitz,
NY a small hamlet on the border of Mass. and part of
the Berkshires. We had found a house that we both loved.
It was November when we found it and were told casually
about the gardens and how it was too bad we couldn't
see them. They were wonderful as the property had once
been owned by a horticulturist.
I visualized myself cutting and arranging flowers and
then promptly forgot
about the gardens as I focused on learning how to light
a wood stove and what a heating system was. You see,
we had never owned property and certainly had never
had a garden. When we experienced our first spring,
I panicked as green things were coming out of the ground
and I couldn't tell a weed from a flower.
Nor had I realized that someone was going to have to
get on her knees and
relate to the earth. You see,in Manhattan, one buys
services; flowers are
delivered to your door in tissue paper by the florist.
The first year the fenced garden went wild. I didn't
know what to do. The
hostas and lilies survived nicely. Luckly I met a friend
who was a gardener and he exchanged his expertise for
min in interior design. I promised I would help him
as soon as he bought a house. To make a long story short
. I fell in love with gardening, and it and Ikebana
became my art forms. And because I quickly learned how
expensive it is to own property, I began renting the
cottage once built for the horticulturists' caretakers
to visiters to the Berkshires. . It is called Guests
Garden and here is our website. www.taconic.net/guestgarden.
The garden photos are early. I have improved. Come visit.
