English Garden Style With Roses When roses bloom in the English Garden it is time to head to Mottisfont Abbey. Nestled in Hampshire's Test River valley, it has a world- famous collection of pre-1900 old-fashioned roses. I was there this week. There were thousands of blooms in borders and clambering on walls and trellises in the vast walled … [Read more...]
The Sensational Tulip
From the Kremlin to Windsor Castle, the sensational tulip takes center stage in spring gardens around the world. In Holland, they are a 2 billion dollar business and bulb fields resemble gigantic Piet Mondrian color-block paintings. Tulips have traveled far from their natural home in Central Asia. In the process they aroused passions and drove … [Read more...]
The Ancient Silk Road in Spring
Spring is in the air along the Ancient Silk Road. When I set out in April 2010 my journey and spring unfolded together like a magical patchwork quilt. Snows were receding from the high Central Asian steppe. Newborn yaks were attempting first ungainly steps. In the Ferghana Valley mulberry leaves were being gathered to feed a hungry new crop of … [Read more...]
