WELCOME TO THE NORTH COUNTRY GARDENER:

writings and musings about cold climate gardening

By Judith Irven

Photographs by Dick Conrad

 

The North Country Gardener is a collection of garden writings.  It is my way of sharing with you, my fellow gardeners, some of the pleasures and fun, as well as frustrations and plain old know-how, of my Vermont gardening life.

Here in Vermont, our summers are warm but our winters are cold.  Dick and I are stewards of a rambling country property, and while our extensive garden is inspired by the beautiful New England landscape, it is governed by the practicalities of our cold climate.

Your own gardens will no doubt differ from ours in many ways. But I hope, wherever you call home, these writings and musings on the art and the practicalities of garden-making will provide both stimulation and enjoyment.

Cold climate gardening: opportunities and challenges

The North Country Gardener is a collection of articles on the opportunities and challenges of New England gardening.

Articles are grouped under the topics shown in the sidebar; click on a topic to see what is currently available.

The North Country Gardener is also a work in progress.  I will be adding both new topics and new articles on a regular basis, so from time to time check back and see what is new.

I send out occasional emails that highlight new articles. Please forward me your address (never to be shared) if you would like to be included in this mailing.

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My gardening spirit

I have many and varied interests which eventually will find their way into The North Country Gardener. These include:

• What does it really mean to make one’s garden sustainable? Of course, we all know that  ‘sustainable’ is today’s buzzword, but it’s still worth thinking about how it applies to gardening and the gardener.
• How do we make a garden that is in harmony with the wider landscape?
• Which plants thrive in our climate and how do we grow them?  I should add that ‘thriving’ goes well beyond barely surviving a winter and spending the following season on the brink of death.
• How to cook locally, in season, and if possible right from your garden?
• How do we make a garden for all seasons, one that is interesting every month of the year? This can be a bit of a challenge in Vermont, since for four months of the year the ground will be blanketed in snow, but I still love winter!
• Which contemporary garden design ideas really work?
• And, last but not least, I will be sharing my visits to other gardens as a source for creativity  and pleasure for everyone

I hope you enjoy reading theses articles as much as I enjoy writing them.  And, if you have questions or comments on anything in The North Country Gardener, I would love to hear from you.