Thank you for the quote from Georgia O'Keeffe, one of my heroes. One of my all time favorites is from another of my heroes, Eleanor Roosevelt said, "I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall."

Plymouth Area Garden Tour 2014 report: this was sponsored by the Plymouth Area Democrats Campaign Office Fund. My husband and I decided that we would see all 8 gardens before having a late lunch in Moultonborough so we started with the Rumney area gardens, then one in Plymouth and then 3 in Holderness. I should have gotten clear directions to the Rumney area since driving directions were based on starting at a different point. Fortunately, my husband was somewhat familiar with the area and guessed better than I did. Gardens were mostly homeowner planned, planted and maintained but one was professionally done and included an impressive slope (facing the house) and also wonderful stonework that replaced a scraggly lawn area due to shade. Another garden had over 350 labeled day lilies. Another dealt with a very steep lot and experience with zone 5-6 plants that didn't survive the first winter in zone 3/maybe 4. Another steep, hilly garden provided walking sticks and had whimsical treatments throughout planting areas including a shed with a hanging bed. This gardener successfully grew a blue lace cap hydrangea usually not hardy in that area, against the foundation of the house/sunroom. Actually, steep slopes/hillside gardens seemed to be the theme this year and all were well done. My husband was intrigued by a large area of exposed ledge that had planting areas terraced by rocks. A lot of gardens had maidenhair ferns which I don't remember seeing so much of. I much admired the gardener who ended up with a sunny, long roadside border that was thriving. She said lots of bark mulch kept weeds down. The gardener who had to learn what shrubs and perennials would survive in his area (formerly gardened on coast of Maine) recommended a Sandwich Nursery that only sells plants hardy for that area. I remember on a tour several years ago visiting this nursery and meeting a gardener who said she had 22 fewer growing days than at her former home in Nashua. I would do this tour again. It is held every two years so next date is July 16, 2016.

George, is your garden on the Westport tour? The Guilford Garden tour is June 10th. I usually go to this one every year and have never been disappointed. A few of the gardens are usually within walking distance of the Guilford Green and there are plenty of good restaurants in town when the lunch bell tolls, a couple right on the harbor. Guilford's Secret Gardens Spectacular private gardens around the historic Guilford Green and in the countryside will be open to the public on June 10 for the annual "Secret Gardens of Guilford" tour. Visitors will be welcome to stroll through the private sanctuaries from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shuttle buses will transport visitors from the centrally located Bishop's Orchards on Route 1 to a countryside destination on the tour. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 on the day of the tour, which will take place rain or shine. For tickets or information, please call 203-458-6516. This year's tour will include several gardens with water features. Among the sites on the tour are new gardens of neighbors who have shared plants and ideas, and some gardens from previous tours that have been reworked to create new effects. Proceeds benefit the Guilford ABC program, which provides "A Better Chance" for academically talented young women of color. The program, which is in its 29th year, has sent more than 100 young women from inner cities to Guilford High School and on to distinguished colleges and careers. Also on the 10th there is a garden tour in Newington and one in West Hartford. Tomorrow is Farmington. Usually I go to this one too but last year I was just not impressed by it at all. When I bought the tickets the day of the tour I overheard one of the volunteers tell someone that is was just "regular people's" gardens that year. What she probably meant was there were no real high end or historic homes on the tour and there weren't but that wasn't the issue for me. At least half of the gardens were not ready for a public tour. A couple of them looked like they hadn't even been spring cleaned yet. I brought a friend who had never been on a garden tour before and even she was puzzled. Oh well, usually it's a good tour so maybe it will be back on track this year. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Farmington Garden Tour

Ginny, I've been following the updates in the local paper... You can too, if you do a Google search to find the Salem News online edition. Every few weeks they usually have an article about what's going on at the site. The basic scoop -- a big developer, the Archstone Corporation had the winning bid for the development of the hospital campus, but the stipulation was that they had to preserve the Kirkbride (that's the big gothic main building). Archstone had its engineers do an initial check of the structure, and reported that with some minor adjustments they could preserve the building. After Archstone got the deal, though, they proposed a plan radically different from their original. Now, they claimed that the age and degree of decrepitude of the Kirkbride would make it impossible to save anything but the front facade. The Danvers town council was outraged (as were many residents). On top of that, relatives of some of the patients who had died and were buried on the campus were very concerned that any development plans that go through must honor and preserve the modest cemetery. The deal was just a big mess. Archstone dropped out. Another company (the name eludes me right now) took it up and apparently has provided a plan that preserves the Kirkbride exterior and its main interior structure... but with major renovations. There are supposed to be lots of new condo buildings, plus use of the Kirkbride and neighboring brick buildings, but I don't know what those uses will be. I presume offices and/or more housing. I drive by there quite regularly, and have always been taken by the beauty of the setting and the drama of the campus structures. I hope that any development that is undertaken preserves the dignity of the place, and its lush green setting.