Oh the places I’ve been...

Although I haven't been blogging over the last years I have not stopped visiting as many gardens as time allows. Just last week while my family was skiing in Vail Colorado I walked through the Betty Ford Alpine Garden. As beautiful as it was in winter I hope I get to see it some day in full bloom.

Two years ago Andy and I went to Germany. We visited public gardens and stunning castle gardens but nothing was better than the visits to my Aunt's garden and my cousin's garden. I truly discovered my roots and the origin of my love of gardening.

I took many photos in the public gardens and the castle gardens. 

This blog is just an opening chapter to highlight some of the sights I've seen the last few years. With February winds blowing through our bare trees and howling down the chimney I thought I'd come up with a topic to fuel my garden dreams. Spring is just around the corner, or so we hope.

One of our more adventurous trips was this past August. We took a Harley Davidson trip to Nantucket where the gardens, window boxes and beaches took my breath away.

There were hikes in amazing places with wonderful friends,

Shopping in new "instantly favorite" locations,

and visits to family members where we swapped plants.

Sometimes there were just walks around our charming Centerport which is just chock full of lovely gardens. So check in every now and then and come along with me to the places I've been.

Ferns

It's beautiful out today. Well, let me clarify, it's beautiful for the end of January. I had a lovely walk around the neighborhood where I looked at all kinds of winter plant material. Coming back to my porch I noticed how nice this fern looked. It will take some digging around but this spring when I go over my plant labels I will take note of what type of fern this is and try to find more for my garden.

Ferns have been catching my eye quite a bit the last few years. Surprising to me is the many different conditions where I have found them thriving. Two years ago we traveled through Northern Germany. One of the castles we visited had real life grotto. Be still my beating heart! This combination of ferns and Wisteria is just stunning.

One of the first ferns I grew (back at Old Country Gardens) was the variety "Ghost". It grows well here in Centerport too, this last spring I learned that it's super easy to divide and hardly missed a step when replanted. I have not had the other ferns here grow as fast.

Here's "Ghost" with a purple Heuchera. I took this photo at the Peconic River Herb Farm, one of my must visit places here on Long Island. 

This nice green fern came without a name. That's because I dug it up in a field at our friends house in upstate New York. It's been happy for three or four years so I'd like to see some more come along. Maybe I have to go dig a few more...

One of my new experiments this past season was this perennial shade pot. I'm hoping these babies make it through the winter, in about 8 weeks I'll know for sure.

Another go around

So here I am again, trying to find a way to get back to my garden blogs. So much has happened since I last posted here. I married my wonderful Andy, making me Melanie Chopay. 

Thankfully Andy loves the outdoors too and we’ve hiked and walked through many a garden or nature preserve. Not only has my name changed but I also manage a bank, who would have guessed that? By the way this photo was taken in Hamburg Germany. 

I have two years of pent up photos and ideas to share, can’t wait to get them out to the world again. 

Love

Melanie