Feed: Dirtier - AggScore: 50.1
Summary: DIRTIER
The Savvy Gardener's Must-Read
WHAT THEY SAW
More than a hundred enthusiastic people came garden-viewing
on the Garden Conservancy Open Day, Saturday May 12th.
This is what they saw:
The mingling of Japanese Maples
Autumn Moon and
Red Moon at their freshest.
Red Moon at their freshest.
The last
tulips--this one named Sky High Scarlet--
very fiddle-dee-dee
in the shadiest border
very fiddle-dee-dee
in the shadiest border
sharing space
with shy Arisaema sikokianum, who this season
decided to turn his back on the garden path.
decided to turn his back on the garden path.
The secret
architecture of Allium triquetrum -- so named
because of the charming little bells rising on a sturdy
three-sided triangular stem.
because of the charming little bells rising on a sturdy
three-sided triangular stem.
English bluebells that are really Spanish
bluebells, but calling them English bluebells has more
resonance--and they are slightly heartier
(and a little less expensive) than Hyacinthoides hispanica 'Excelsior'. If you are a purist, then get Hyacinthoides non - scripta which is commercially grown as Scilla nutans and is most closely akin to the indigenous English bluebell. But I would stick with this...
(and a little less expensive) than Hyacinthoides hispanica 'Excelsior'. If you are a purist, then get Hyacinthoides non - scripta which is commercially grown as Scilla nutans and is most closely akin to the indigenous English bluebell. But I would stick with this...
Allliums ready to pop.
Aren't they sexy...
Aren't they sexy...
That caressable makes-you-limp-kneed lavender
Tree Peony....one
of many, many blooms on this old tree - well, old for me, brought
from my first garden where it barely produced a flower and
has now flourished in the sun.
of many, many blooms on this old tree - well, old for me, brought
from my first garden where it barely produced a flower and
has now flourished in the sun.
Columbines mixing
with Fritillaria acopetala under the snowy
whiteness of Japanese maple 'Butterfly' bought at the
Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons some 3 or 4 years ago.
whiteness of Japanese maple 'Butterfly' bought at the
Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons some 3 or 4 years ago.
And lastly - and
I suppose most importantly because it was
the absolute People's Choice. Everyone's favorite densely
layered dwarf Japanese maple, I think it is 'Mikawa yatsubusa'
and I acquired it from Lynch's in Southampton in 2007.
the absolute People's Choice. Everyone's favorite densely
layered dwarf Japanese maple, I think it is 'Mikawa yatsubusa'
and I acquired it from Lynch's in Southampton in 2007.
Date Published: May 30, 2012 - 11:16 am
May
12
86 Davids Lane
East
Hampton, New York
10 -
2
The
weather is supposed to be gorgeous!
I look forward to seeing you!
Date Published: May 09, 2012 - 9:02 am
EUPHORBIA
EUPHORIA
Having just torn open a packed-to-last-forever box fromForestFarm, that grand Oregon nursery that has everything,
I am reminded again of my abiding Euphorbia ecstasy.
Among the most advantageous of the useful plants – and by
useful I mean the ones that really give you year-round pleasure
and punch – it is no wonder I ordered 4 new kinds. Well, one of
them isn’t new, this will be my 4th or 5th attempt at Tasmanian Tiger,
but I am heartened enough to try again because one of three last
year that had come from the wonderful North Fork grower,
Glover Perennials, survived our climate-changed winter in
full sun and now I can say with assurance that this is a plant that is fabulous 12 months a year.
Things that had never bloomed, non-growers that I had given
up for lost/never found or just plain disappointing
appeared before my very eyes like a wonder.
An Arisaema sikokianum…you know, the one everyone adores,
was lovingly planted two or three years ago...
and nothing
till
Miracle Day.
A vining
Fritillaria planted in 2009! That had never shown its face
before suddenly was there climbing up the fastigiate yew – just as
I had pictured it...all those years ago.
before suddenly was there climbing up the fastigiate yew – just as
I had pictured it...all those years ago.
Fritillaria verticillata – the only vining
spring bulb,
or one of the very few.
And a tricolor quince, or Chaenamoles, sporting several little
bouquets of flowers on its limbs that are indeed three colors,
never before seen,
but I have faith in ForestFarm,
even though this took 6 years to bloom!
or one of the very few.
And a tricolor quince, or Chaenamoles, sporting several little
bouquets of flowers on its limbs that are indeed three colors,
never before seen,
but I have faith in ForestFarm,
even though this took 6 years to bloom!
And Never
Give Up! That is how I see it…
E.V.
Day, an artist that I first came upon at Edsel
Williams' always-interesting Fireplace Project
Gallery when
she was in her wrapping- Barbie-like-a-mummy phase.
She has done many great things since,
recently showing her work at the great
James Salomon Gallery in Chelsea and has now leapt
into a new –and sacred – arena with a body of work created at
the God-head garden at Giverny. Monet’s idyllic springboard has
been transported to The Hole Gallery on the Bowery where E.V. has
collaborated with Kembra Pfahler.
she was in her wrapping- Barbie-like-a-mummy phase.
She has done many great things since,
recently showing her work at the great
James Salomon Gallery in Chelsea and has now leapt
into a new –and sacred – arena with a body of work created at
the God-head garden at Giverny. Monet’s idyllic springboard has
been transported to The Hole Gallery on the Bowery where E.V. has
collaborated with Kembra Pfahler.
Date Published: May 05, 2012 - 7:22 am
IT DIDN'T HAPPEN, BUT THE
VERY IDEA of
A MONSOON!
A MONSOON!
THIS IS
EAST HAMPTON, after all
God knows, we needed some rain, but
monsoons….this is what
they were saying anyway about what to expect last weekend.
So, in the pouring rain – fearing that my gorgeous tulips will go the
way of all monsoon-ridden flowers – I ran out to retrieve
a bunch before the deluge. If I must say so myself, on the Sunday evening of 22 April, my color combinations are to die for.
All musky and muted and purply – dusk-tinted shades of salmon
and brick and chestnutty-maroon. Too rainy to gather too many,
but this is an idea…
they were saying anyway about what to expect last weekend.
So, in the pouring rain – fearing that my gorgeous tulips will go the
way of all monsoon-ridden flowers – I ran out to retrieve
a bunch before the deluge. If I must say so myself, on the Sunday evening of 22 April, my color combinations are to die for.
All musky and muted and purply – dusk-tinted shades of salmon
and brick and chestnutty-maroon. Too rainy to gather too many,
but this is an idea…
Take that, you stinky old
dandelion!
I THINK I WILL SERVE
TEA
Everyone is baffled by the early spring.
I have to do something because any poor garden tourer that is
visiting my garden on May 12 will have absolutely nothing to see.
This is what they will have missed:
My
darkest hellebore kissed by the beautiful white daffodil
Thalia with Muscari botryoides 'Superstar' in front.
(although I'm not sure this one lives up to its name,
might stick with classic M. armeniacum,
though I love the pale blue 'Valerie Finnis'
and the bushy M. comosum).
Thalia with Muscari botryoides 'Superstar' in front.
(although I'm not sure this one lives up to its name,
might stick with classic M. armeniacum,
though I love the pale blue 'Valerie Finnis'
and the bushy M. comosum).
More of that adored Thalia peeping out from
under the Sargent’s Weeping Hemlock – which proves 2
things: it has great tenacity (this is the 4th or 5th
year for this clump which started out on the edge of the
treeline and is now completetly engulfed in its shade)
AND that the Weeping Hemlock has totally outgrown its
spot.
Variegated Petasites at their
freshest.
The unfolding of this circular-leafed
Podophyllum (or mayapple)
Scored from
Calista Washburn’s great garden at the
Garden Club of East Hampton’s posh Memorial Day flower sale.
Scored from
Calista Washburn’s great garden at the
Garden Club of East Hampton’s posh Memorial Day flower sale.
The unfurling of the especially fuzzy brown
fiddleheads of
Polystichum polyblepharum (or Tassel Fern)
nestled among the spotted leaves of an
Erythronium (dog’s tooth violet) that has
yet to bloom…but I have faith in it.
Polystichum polyblepharum (or Tassel Fern)
nestled among the spotted leaves of an
Erythronium (dog’s tooth violet) that has
yet to bloom…but I have faith in it.
An Erythronium that finally did bloom!
It’s called ‘White Splendor’
and took 3 years to produce this fine little flower.
and took 3 years to produce this fine little flower.
Japanese maple ‘Orange Dream’ showing off its
irrepressible
color behind the twisted Larch just popping into puffs of new
growth – like a myriad of little paintbrushes.
Fiery new growth of Acer 'Goshiki Kotohine' against the blue needles of Cupressus glabra 'Blue Ice', a charming Arizona cypress.
color behind the twisted Larch just popping into puffs of new
growth – like a myriad of little paintbrushes.
Fiery new growth of Acer 'Goshiki Kotohine' against the blue needles of Cupressus glabra 'Blue Ice', a charming Arizona cypress.
The
clash of the Burnt Sienna Fritillaria imperialis against
the
astounding Magnolia.
astounding Magnolia.
So, the appreciating and
appreciative that come to see my
garden on
GARDEN CONSERVANCY OPEN DAY
May 12
86 Davids Lane
East Hampton, New York
10 - 2
will have missed all of these spring lovelies,
but there will be other delights.
GARDEN CONSERVANCY OPEN DAY
May 12
86 Davids Lane
East Hampton, New York
10 - 2
will have missed all of these spring lovelies,
but there will be other delights.
Date Published: Apr 30, 2012 - 8:48 am
It is
time to start marking your calendars
for all of the
wonderful seasonal
events on the East
End.
For starters, may we
suggest the following:
The Garden
Conservancy Open Days schedule is full of wonderful gardens
for you to visit.
My garden will be
open on May 12th--you
Saturday, June 16th
is the
Over the last forty
years, artist and writer Robert Dash has established a green,
organic encyclopedia of gardening on two acres of
land in Sagaponack, featuring
Tudor,
High
Renaissance, early Greek,
as well as Oriental
garden influences.
You must
visit!
on the Events
page.
OH My God I ALMOST MISSED
IT
But
something caught my eye…and what to
my wonder
did appear but a
Dogtooth’s Violet, Erythronium
dens-canis.
AND
The first fully-formed Fritillaria
michailovskyi ‘Multiflora’
What is
spring anyway without a Peeping
Stick?
AND
LOOK at this TRILLIUM
For me,
this is to die – planted on blind faith
from
an
innocuous tuber from Plant
Delights about ten
months
ago – it was worth everyone of the $26 to see it emerge in all of
its subtle mottled glory this
spring.
Trillium ludovicianum to be
exact.
Date Published: Apr 18, 2012 - 5:49 am
WHAT TO DO with that DAMN
FORSYTHIA
Well, just climb inside those rangy bushes and
cut those long
twangy branches off – bring them inside –
and plop them into a big sturdy vase and put them in
a room with high ceilings.
twangy branches off – bring them inside –
and plop them into a big sturdy vase and put them in
a room with high ceilings.
SPRING
COLORS
+2.jpg)
The matching fuschia/magenta of
the tips of
Euphorbia robbiae hovering over the
double Hellebore.
The tender blue-white mottling of the
treasured Iris histrioides ‘Katherine
Hodgkin’
+2.jpg)
growing canopied by a prostrate yew and
these big old Allium
leaves - just think – big Allium leaves in March!
leaves - just think – big Allium leaves in March!
Look at these three variartiions on
gold/yellow/amber/chartreuse/and
best-of-all spring green: the Euphorbia Ascot’s Rainbow, a charming small-cupped daffodil with just a little orange and the new-growth green of a highly-pruned Hinoki cypress.
best-of-all spring green: the Euphorbia Ascot’s Rainbow, a charming small-cupped daffodil with just a little orange and the new-growth green of a highly-pruned Hinoki cypress.
And this other double Hellebore -
kicking up
through the Lamium.
The lush green moss caresses the dwarf
charming Muscari ‘Azureum’, eyed closely enough you
can detect small blue stripes on each pale
under-petal…absolutely dreamy.
An exceptionally spring green grass field
around the corner
strewn with 100’s of daffodils.
strewn with 100’s of daffodils.
And, If you missed
this unprecedented event at
Cornell, you might like to know that even though
this once-every-140 years-in-captivity is hard to compete
with,
the Drancunculus here on David's Lane are
already at least a foot tall and who knows, just might be open for the Garden Conservancy Open Day on May 12.
Not as gigantic ...but also extremely exotic and stinky.
the Drancunculus here on David's Lane are
already at least a foot tall and who knows, just might be open for the Garden Conservancy Open Day on May 12.
Not as gigantic ...but also extremely exotic and stinky.
Date Published: Apr 14, 2012 - 5:37 am
For Anglophiles
And What Gardener Isn't?
And What Gardener Isn't?
Queen Elizabeth in the
Garden. No, not our endearing
contemporary Queen Elizabeth, but the grand Elizabeth I.
As much about gossip and grand gestures as it is about
gardening…this tale of the competition between Earl of Leicester
and Baron Burghley recreates the gardening sizzle of the time…
contemporary Queen Elizabeth, but the grand Elizabeth I.
As much about gossip and grand gestures as it is about
gardening…this tale of the competition between Earl of Leicester
and Baron Burghley recreates the gardening sizzle of the time…
PAEONIA rockii LOVERS TAKE NOTE:
ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO
SPLURGED
ON THE CHINESE ONES LAST
SPRING
Thankfully and happily, I can report
seeing signs of life in
2 of the 4 Chinese peonies that I planted in the great rush of
Chinese peony enthusiasm last spring .
Admittedly, the signs of life are still slight,
2 of the 4 Chinese peonies that I planted in the great rush of
Chinese peony enthusiasm last spring .
Admittedly, the signs of life are still slight,
but they are unmistakeable.
and this is just the beginning…
tree peonies are meant to outlive us, so of course,
and this is just the beginning…
tree peonies are meant to outlive us, so of course,
they take their
time getting started.
Look at my precious tree peonies
that have been dug up and
replanted more than once
(a thing “they” say never to do, disturb their roots)
Thriving, my dear…simply thriving
And don’t forget – it is only March…
(a thing “they” say never to do, disturb their roots)
Thriving, my dear…simply thriving
And don’t forget – it is only March…
And another thing to look for: the new
growth might not occur on the obvious crevices of the branches,
but at the base coming up from the roots… I just spotted this
sign of life.
Have Faith in your Tree Peonies.
ROPED IN WITH WORDS
Oh isn’t it often the way. Well, I
am crazy for Sanguinaria…
or
'bloodroot' as it's known for its maroon gelatinous sap…
I’m hooked on its caressing celadon leaves and
its charming sort-of shy behavior. Well, anyway, I have several
or
'bloodroot' as it's known for its maroon gelatinous sap…
I’m hooked on its caressing celadon leaves and
its charming sort-of shy behavior. Well, anyway, I have several
beloved clumps and was lured into
buying these--
--because of the beguiling description as a Rare Pink-Form.
Now I am not usually smitten by pink flowers of any kind but the
idea of a pink Sanguinaria somehow got to me and I spent $40.
Yes, forty. And as you can see, they are not pink at all.
--because of the beguiling description as a Rare Pink-Form.
Now I am not usually smitten by pink flowers of any kind but the
idea of a pink Sanguinaria somehow got to me and I spent $40.
Yes, forty. And as you can see, they are not pink at all.
Well, actually there is a pink blush and it even
gets a bit pinker when the demure petals close and it goes to
sleep in the afternoon,
but I would have spent my $40
elsewhere had I known it was this subtle...…
but I would have spent my $40
elsewhere had I known it was this subtle...…
Excerpeted from Volume 34 of DIRTIER, Dianne
B's
newsletter for the Savvy
Gardener.
You can read the entire newsletter
HERE!
Date Published: Apr 08, 2012 - 1:23 pm
It’s
still March, for God’s sake…
or at least it was a few days
ago.
We've had a normal weather respite for
the last week
Thank
God
(and
I say this sincerely on Palm Sunday)
and the
garden has slowed down a bit
But...
Even some hellebores are beginning to
fade…that usually doesn’t happen
until May!
And of course
WEEDS
GALORE WEEDS WEEDS
I am not
going to show you a picture of weeds because
this is
one thing you all have, and for which
The
warmth also signaled a very early end to the
Dwarf Reticulate and histrioides Iris and a quick end to the snowdrops…suddenly shriveled and sad …also a reminder….
now is the time to divide them -
when you can remember where they were and where you want more.
Oh yes, and speaking of snowdrops, ‘S. Arnott’ is really the biggest
and showiest. It’s a shame that you cannot appreciate the size
in these rather shaky pictures,
Dwarf Reticulate and histrioides Iris and a quick end to the snowdrops…suddenly shriveled and sad …also a reminder….
now is the time to divide them -
when you can remember where they were and where you want more.
Oh yes, and speaking of snowdrops, ‘S. Arnott’ is really the biggest
and showiest. It’s a shame that you cannot appreciate the size
in these rather shaky pictures,
but trust
me, flailing open like this – at least 2 inches across
–
and when drooping it is the size of the famous
and when drooping it is the size of the famous
pearl
earring of Vermeer.
So right now is the time, if there ever was one, to get your snowdrop
orders into the most gallant and graceful bulb supplier of all time,
The Temple Nursery of Mr. H. Lyman.
Mr. Lyman is a real specialist and corresponds with you in calligraphy. Yes, I swear this to be true. And there is no
So right now is the time, if there ever was one, to get your snowdrop
orders into the most gallant and graceful bulb supplier of all time,
The Temple Nursery of Mr. H. Lyman.
Mr. Lyman is a real specialist and corresponds with you in calligraphy. Yes, I swear this to be true. And there is no
web
site, (which is a relief really)
but you may request a catalogue at
but you may request a catalogue at
Box 591,
Trumansburg, New York 14886.
Please
tell him I sent you.
Date Published: Apr 05, 2012 - 5:49 am
NO APRIL FOOL
Oh no - there are those who are still awe-struck by climate change…
Come on….
Can there still be those so blind and sense-deprived,
Even if one is a Red Stater??
If so, then let my own garden combine with the credible experts
as testimony that
The Times They Have Changed
Let’s take the memborable day March 14 just past, vivid not only because it was my Mother’s birthday, but it was a gorgeous
65 degree day ….
look what happened…
Amazing... A Tulip
Species Tulip humilis
An anemone coronaria….then two…soon five…. can
you believe it?
The gentle single petalled one is
Anemone coronaria ‘Mr. Fokker’ and the denser purplier is ‘Lord
Lieutenant’, both from Brent and
Becky.
They are funny little bulbs that look like claws and must be soaked overnight before planting. And... they are not expensive……
this is the result of a few bulbs…
you can believe my next order
will be dozens…
They go dormant in early summer but sprout forth their
lacy perky startling green leaves in autumn
(another one of those things for which you need your
Plant Markers)
…and look at these peonies bursting up and screaming
Let Me Out of Here!
They are funny little bulbs that look like claws and must be soaked overnight before planting. And... they are not expensive……
this is the result of a few bulbs…
you can believe my next order
will be dozens…
They go dormant in early summer but sprout forth their
lacy perky startling green leaves in autumn
(another one of those things for which you need your
Plant Markers)
…and look at these peonies bursting up and screaming
Let Me Out of Here!
For the rest of Volume 34 of DIRTIER by the
Dianne B,
Date Published: Apr 03, 2012 - 4:34 am
It Is Time for Your Peeping Stick!!
This is the time of year for the Garden Peeping Stick from
The Best @ Dianne B.
Order yours today and enjoy the full beauty of the blooming
Hellebores and other gorgeous delights in the early spring
garden.
Date Published: Mar 23, 2012 - 11:48 am
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Aimed at my fellow frigid-blooded friends who, like me, are always cold…
A cozy house just is not enough.
If there is happiness in a material thing, especially one as simple as a pair of well-fitting, warm fleecy tights, then I have found Nirvana. Mind you, these are not Yoga pants or running pants -- so they don’t have annoying floppy wide legs or even worse, an elastic band at the ankle…nor do they have any messages printed on them anywhere. They are just simple warm and comforting.
If my website, The Best @ Dianne B can bring the same happiness to you that these toasty tights from Blue Ice Clothing have brought to me, I am happy.
WARM WINTER READING
Long before Patti Smith’s great little book , Just Kids about her juicy sixties life in New York with Robert Mapplethorpe received a National Book Award, I recommended it here in Volume 10 of DIRTIER when first published, and now in the throes of winter I would like to point you toward another small tome from Patti called - delightfully and snuggly –Woolgathering.
…anyway in this new edition of Woolgathering, available in your bookstores now, she covers and photographs all sorts of topics from our forefathers to what’s on Johnny Depp’s desk. Snug and charming.
Best of this…best of that…Best movie of the year, best book, best plant, best buy, best best best. Well, who knows these days what is best anyway with such an abundance of choices, but I particularly like the idea of Best Word of the Year as chosen by the American Dialect Society (in cahoots with the Linguistic Society) and they have chosen:
OCCUPY
Nothing like bringing new life to a
seemingly
tired old word.
Since Brain
Pickings dreamed up a logo similar to mine (I won’t
pile on the hosannas by alluding that they might have been
influenced, but I think mine came first), I have taken interest
in this website and you might
too. It is sometimes nerdy and too new-agey – and never
about gardening -- but mostly has great images and things of
cultural interest .
Date Published: Feb 13, 2012 - 7:58 am
First 2012 Issue: DIRTIER The Savvy Gardener's Must-Read
David
LaChapelle
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, Love leaves a memory no one can steal, 2009
Chromogenic color print
Image size: 16 x16 inches
Paper size: 24 x 20 inches
© 2011 David LaChapelle
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, Love leaves a memory no one can steal, 2009
Chromogenic color print
Image size: 16 x16 inches
Paper size: 24 x 20 inches
© 2011 David LaChapelle
Ed
Ruscha
Twig, 2011
Photographic image produced using large format color negative film, drum scanned and digitally output with a Gretag/Cymbolic LightJet printer onto Fujiflex Crystal Archive Supergloss Paper
Image size: 14 x 11 inches
Paper size: 24 x 20 inches
© 2011 Ed Ruscha
Twig, 2011
Photographic image produced using large format color negative film, drum scanned and digitally output with a Gretag/Cymbolic LightJet printer onto Fujiflex Crystal Archive Supergloss Paper
Image size: 14 x 11 inches
Paper size: 24 x 20 inches
© 2011 Ed Ruscha
Both the intense light of the David LaChapelle and the endless presence of the Twig circle remind me of John McWhinnie and so I share these with you to remember him.
THOUGHTS ON KEEPING WARM:
( or VAROIUS METHODS for CONQUERING the COLD)
The time-honored practice of protecting tenderer trees has been accomplished in several ways around here.
This next is my loose approximation of a Christo.
Notice how the English Garden Twine caresses every curve of the fledgling summer magnolia that I am trying to accustom to the maybe-too-shady spot.
Wrapping a tender plant, here a prized big-leaf
Farfugium, like a gift basket is another favorite method to be accomplished with a few squares of burlap (available at most garden centers, but you usually have to ask for it) and more of that fabulousEnglish Garden Twine, which has a million uses.
|
| LongHouse, East Hampton, NY |
Date Published: Feb 04, 2012 - 6:51 pm
DIANNE B HOLIDAY TREATS 2011
SEE WHAT KDHAMPTONS--The Luxury Lifestyle
Diary of The Hamptons--HAS TO SAY ABOUT
DIANNE
MY
HAMPTONS
Dianne Benson
Occupation: Garden Stylist, Founder of
The Best @ Dianne B, President of LongHouse Reserve, Writer,
Mother
Current Residence: LongHall, Davids Lane, East
Hampton
KDHamptons: How long have you
been coming to the Hamptons? Why do you love it so much? Do you
come out all year round?
Dianne
Benson: I’ve been an East Hamptonite for nearly
thirty years. It was the fullness of the seasons and the beauty
of the place that captured me…and eventually turned me into an
obsessed gardener. If I had to choose the best time of year, it
would surely be early spring when our glorious 75 year old
magnolia tree is in bloom and everything around us feels so
tender. Although I would feel bereft without our Beekman Place
city apartment, East Hampton is our home. As proud President of
LongHouse Reserve, and also actively involved with many other
things like The Watermill Center, the LVIS, various garden
tours and St. Luke’s Church. Plus our 16 year old daughter,
Skye Qi goes to school here and my gardening retail business
(diannebbest.com) is based here, so…. life really revolves
around East Hampton.
|
| Dale Chihuly sculpture @ LongHouse Reserve |
KDH: Describe your
Hamptons home and decorating
style?
DB: Our home is a
wonderfully eclectic mix of ancient artifacts, contemporary
photography and art, carpets gathered from around the world and
mostly comfortable furniture from many periods collected in
many places. Our huge master suite that looks over the Nature
Trail was once a glass-covered olympic- sized pool. A plethora
of books makes up four libraries: Literature and Poetry in the
official library room, Archaeology and Religion in Lys’ writing
room, art and travel covers one high wall of the bedroom and,
natch, gardening and fashion in my
office.
KDH: Personal style:
do you have a Hamptons “uniform”? Which designer do you
wear the
most?
DB: My personal
look is not very different from our home — a diverse collection
of designers, accessories and put-togethers — some old, some
new, some ethnic — that I switch and change and wear
simultaneously. Some of my favorite designers are still those
once sold in my Dianne B. stores: Gaultier, Comme des Garcons
and Issey Miyake; and I newly like Rick Owens and occasionally
splurge on Hermes or Marc Jacobs for Vuitton. It is seldom that
I wear any color that is not natural, white or black. My
default look is some form of jodphurs or riding pants with
varying jackets and boots that do not belong in the saddle.
With the blessing of a gigantic closet, I can whip up
last-minute looks from disparate sources and wind up looking
like me without a designer’s
stamp.
KDH: What is your
favorite restaurant? Do you have a favorite dish you get every
time?
DB: Our favorite
East Hampton restaurant, whether it is an occasion or a simple
lunch, is unquestionably The Living Room at c/o The Maidstone.
We love the décor — all of Jenny’s Swedish touches combined
with her taste in art…but most of all, it is the delicious menu
that keeps us coming back. At least once a week I need a dose
of Toast Pelle Jansson, which is the thinnest slivers of
grass-fed beef carpaccio under a layer of greens and yummy
Swedish cheese topped with just the right amount of crème
fraiche and
caviar.
|
| Maidstone Inn Dining Room |
KDH: Describe your
perfect day in detail for KDHamptons
readers?
DB: My perfect day
would be one with more hours than
24.
KDH: How did you
transition from fashion to gardening? What inspired you to
start The Best @ Dianne B? What is your latest garden
great?
DB: Transition from
fashion to gardening: It was an unconscious move, really,
during my fashion days I expressed myself with style in the
form of clothes and then that same palette became a garden
instead of an
outfit.
The fashion world of the 70’s and 80’s was
filled with inspiration and there were no such things as
stylist’s assistants or corporate considerations to over-burden
what was a wonderfully free and creative process. My first
store on Madison Avenue sold great clothes from Paris, Japan
and New York. Then I opened three more stores in what was just
becoming the art center of New York, SoHo, including a great
big concrete minimalist Comme des Garcons store. No regular
advertising for me — I teamed up with artists like Robert
Mapplethorpe and Cindy Sherman and published images in
Interview. They were exciting days. So are
these.
KDH: Your own garden
has been included on several house tours, what is so unique
about
it?
DB: My garden
differs from others in that it is all about plants and
personality and not very much about flowers; in fact — there is
no such thing as a ‘flower bed’ — the whole property is a kind
of layering of texture and shape and color. But I am hugely
into bulb planting, so come spring there are plenty of tulips,
iris, fritillaria and hyacinths in great swathes. Then, in
summer I adore lilies of all kinds and not just the obvious big
white Casablancas. Instead I am much more into species and
Turk’s cap types, which are more mysterious and come in an
amazing spectrum of color. Tubers of the arum family are
another exotic thing — I especially collect and nurture bizarre
Jack-in-the-Pulpits. I carry the same principles into my
clients’ gardens — layering and texturing as if the landscape
were one big
outfit.
|
|
Fascinating Allium schubertii in unlikely
position in front of dwarf Japanese maple. |
KDH: What is your best
kept secret about the Hamptons? DB: Well, most of my
secrets are too clandestine to reveal; but cranberry picking just
in time for Thanksgiving in the Napeague dunes is one little
pleasure that I can share.
KDH: Why haven’t you written another book? DB: Well, in way I have been writing the sequel to DIRT: The Lowdown on Growing a Garden with Style in my News Letter and blog, DIRTIER, which has been published since the inauguration of my web site (www.diannebbest.com), The Best @ Dianne B. Soon I will elaborate on all these essays and combine them into one new and funny volume that I hope will become a cult classic like my first book, DIRT.
KDH: Why haven’t you written another book? DB: Well, in way I have been writing the sequel to DIRT: The Lowdown on Growing a Garden with Style in my News Letter and blog, DIRTIER, which has been published since the inauguration of my web site (www.diannebbest.com), The Best @ Dianne B. Soon I will elaborate on all these essays and combine them into one new and funny volume that I hope will become a cult classic like my first book, DIRT.
|
| DIRT:The Lowdown on Growing a Garden with Style |
KDH: What are your
plans for the Holidays? Travel or staying out East?
DB: Our highlight is
the Christmas Eve service at Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church on the
East Hampton green, where all the family — except our darling
dogs Flora Pandora and Magnolia V. — participates. Sadly we can
only bring them to Church once a year on Pet Sunday at the
beginning of October. Each time we opt to travel when the
Hamptons are all decked out, we regret it, so this year we are
staying put but are considering Paris for New
Year’s.
|
| Flora Pandora and Magnolia V. |
KDH: If you could have
anyone at your Hamptons dinner party (dead or alive) who would
you invite? DB: There are so many
friends and colleagues we enjoy entertaining to name names, but
of those that are impossible to invite I would choose my heroine,
Vita Sackville West. She was an eccentric gardener and writer of
great style who did many notable things but is most probably
famous for her torrid affair with Virginia Woolf while
maintaining a family and happy marriage at Sissinghurst in Kent,
England. From her generation, I would also have the tight-lipped
T.S. Eliot and glamorous Nancy Cunard. Along with them, I would
mix in Dirk Bogarde and John Lennon. Now, that would be a great
party.
THE NEW TOOLS HAVE
ARRIVED....
The Dig Deep Weeder
The Poetic Potting Trowel
...and they look like hand-hewn works
of art --- I am so
happy
happy
to
be
able to offer them to you in time for
Christmas.
The Dig Deep Weeder
Long-Lithe-Sharp and One of a Kind. The
Sneeboer family of
Holland
has hand-forged tools that personify quality
and elegance for a
hundred
hundred
years
and that is why I am so
pleased to have my logo engraved on
their
cherry-wood handles. You will be just
as proud to own this totally
unique
sharp--combine that with the lethal v-shaped
edge and you will find
a
tool that digs deep and defies any
root--even dandelions with
their
impossibly long taproots can be removed with
ease, not to
mention
thistles
and
nettles.
The Poetic Potting Trowel
You have never seen
a trowel as sinuously shaped
as
like it
anywhere. It is the only tool specifically designed
with
enough
agility to sweep
around the curves of a pot or to get into the crevices
of
a tight window box,
plus it is excellent for navigating narrow flower
beds.
The undulating
curvaceous bend of steel is an extension of the "turn of your
wrist" and therefore deposits the soil around the plants
precisely
where
you direct it, not
beside the pot or the box where dirt is wont to
fly.
Gardening with Style engraved on the handles
looks terrific. Get in on this very Limited Edition
now. You will want to own it yourself and we gift wrap
beautifully for you--the thoughtful garden gift
giver.
AN EXTRA SPECIAL HOLIDAY
DEAL
Because it is often so difficult to decide
exactly what the beloved gardener on your list will want for
Christmas....we are making it extra delectable for you to
give a Dianne B Gift
Certificate.
be eligible for a 20% discount. Please
use Special Code
Holiday2011 on the Shopping Cart
page.
TO YOU OUR MOST
EXTRAVAGANT
Should you opt for the
$425 Gift Certificate you will be
paying
a
mere $340 for all TWELVE of the Garden
Greats
Though this is new growth on that same
Japanese maple,
everything looks like the holidays to
me.
HOPE YOURS ARE HAPPY
ONES.
Date Published: Dec 08, 2011 - 6:19 am
Dianne B Has Great News for You!
WHAT MAKES A THING
IRRESISTIBLE?
Exclusivity. Distinction. Quality. And of course, Style.
The TWO NEW GARDEN GREATS @ DIANNE B
Have It All & MORE--MARVELOUS!
I have spent years looking for these perfect tools with the
equipoise and integrity to live up to the distinction of
being Dianne B. Garden Greats.
Here they are...
I was searching for the Perfect Weeder — but
found instead a miracle !
This tool doesn’t just rout out the longest, most
rebellious weeds — it also slices
into the earth and
makes a perfect curvature to
deposit a big fat lily bulb
or allium or tulip — you name
it. So you can imagine,
during this furious bulb planting
time that I am doubly
thrilled to offer it to
you.
The graceful Poetic
Potting Trowel is designed with an inherent rhythm that makes
using it unlike any other gardening tool that I have ever
touched. The wood
handles are engraved to
remind you that you
are
gardening with
style.
SPEAKING of BULB
PLANTING
I have still many more to plant, and if you are in
the same boat,
think on
this:Try interplanting
the more delectable
bulbs (that is, those favored
by
rodents and such like
tulips, hyacinths,lilies, etc)
with
pest-deterring bulbs
like Narcissus, Allium and Fritillaria.
This
not only protects your bulbs from the burrowers,
it
can make for
beautiful
mixed bulb pictures.
And plant deep…that
helps too.
I planted Fritillaria and Puschkinia here between the
I planted Fritillaria and Puschkinia here between the
Balinese
cows now
cloaked with my adored Arum italicum.
Narcissus and Muscari
Hyacinths are now nestled
among the male and female Skimmia
plants:
(which one has the berries, the
girl or
the boy...I can never remember).
the boy...I can never remember).
See how the berries turn red and the Black mambo
stems become more brilliant
!
For more on fall plantings, great
garden tools and
other exciting news, visit us at
other exciting news, visit us at
Date Published: Nov 28, 2011 - 5:38 am
Holiday Special Offer
THE EPITOME of AUTUMN
Acer shirasawanum
'Autumn Moon'
Acer shirasawanum
'Autumn Moon'
is not only in the
beauty of these glorious autumn colors, it is
also the chance of a lifetime to refresh your garden supplies or stock up on Christmas gifts for everyone on your list who even dabbles in daffodils or enjoys communing with their yard or window box.
also the chance of a lifetime to refresh your garden supplies or stock up on Christmas gifts for everyone on your list who even dabbles in daffodils or enjoys communing with their yard or window box.
Never Before Dianne B.
Great Deal----Special Buy
All for
$350
This deal of a lifetime
is Not Just for Gardeners…imagine how many Christmas gifts you
could provide by giving out a monogrammed shovel here, fabulous
aluminum tags there and the hippest tool belt
anywhere.
Go to
our website and click on
the "Specials" button in the
right sidebar to see the details for All Twelve Garden
Greats.
The regular price for
all Twelve Garden
Greats at Dianne B. is
$530.
Because: Dianne is refreshing the site by retiring a few things and
adding two new gorgeous tools AND because the Holidays are
coming and it is time to be generous--For a very limited time and
with FREE SHIPPING (usually at least $35.00)…every single
item can be yours for only $350.
Because: Dianne is refreshing the site by retiring a few things and
adding two new gorgeous tools AND because the Holidays are
coming and it is time to be generous--For a very limited time and
with FREE SHIPPING (usually at least $35.00)…every single
item can be yours for only $350.
This is a
once-in-a-lifetime fantastic holiday
offer!
A great way to buy a gift for one person, or as a way to shop
for gifts for all of your gardening friends
(you can spread out the items to many people on your list).
A great way to buy a gift for one person, or as a way to shop
for gifts for all of your gardening friends
(you can spread out the items to many people on your list).
Expect a usual Dianne B
DIRTIER before Thanksgiving, which will coincide with the
introduction of the have-to-have new Couture Gardening
Tools. You'll not be able to be resist the handmade
best-in-show Dig Deep Weeder nor certainly The Poetic Potting
Trowel...both incised with The Best @ Dianne
B motto:
Gardening with
Style
In the meantime, Happy
Bulb Planting.
You can never have
enough spring flowers.
Arum
italicum
Date Published: Nov 09, 2011 - 3:37 pm
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