Photo taken by Autumn Pinette
Welcome to my blog. I’m so pleased you’ve found me and I hope you’ll visit often and leave comments on posts you find interesting and provocative.
I am a landscape designer and garden coach based in Stamford, CT (zone 6). While I have been designing gardens for many years, I recently launched my own business called Roberts & Roberts. I’m a member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) and sit on APLD’s national Sustainability Committee. The committee promotes the importance of environmentally sound landscape design and implementation. We are responsible for drafting guidelines used by APLD members in areas such as using native plants in landscape design, water conservation and environmentally responsible lawn design. I am also a founding member and current treasurer of the Connecticut chapter of APLD.
I have written articles for local magazines and newspapers on subjects ranging from designing a multi-season garden to shrinking the size of your lawn to container gardening with edibles. I also teach garden design classes through the Greenwich Adult and Continuing Education program.
I have been a professional landscape designer for about 5 years but I’ve been gardening for almost as long as I can remember. I grew up in Hoosick Falls, NY and I guess I started my love of gardening with my first transplants from my grandmother’s garden. I started a shade garden in the back of our house with a few Lillies of the Valley ( Convallaria majalis) I took from her garden.
I am married and have two teenage sons who, no matter how hard I try to get them excited about landscaping and gardening, still see any garden-related activity as a chore. Fortunately I am blessed with a supportive husband who enjoys working in our gardens. Our home sits on approximately one acre of land so we are never short of ‘projects’. He’s always willing to humor me and move trees, shrubs or perennials to ‘new homes’ in our yard since I am always experimenting. I view my gardens as a work in progress – I always wonder ‘What if I…’
In this blog I hope to expose readers to lots of new possibilities…new plants, new garden products, new knowledge, new ideas. I am really looking forward to hearing your comments since the best way to grow is to open ourselves to new ideas.
Happy Gardening,
Debbie
Hi Debbie,
Just found your blog, very informative and fun to read. I love to garden in between my other motherly duties. It’s a break from all those chores that never end in the house. Look forward to some good gardening articles. TFS.
Monika
Hi Monika,
I’m so happy you found my blog and I hope you’ll stop back often. I’m glad to hear you don’t view gardening as another ‘chore’. Sometimes even the unglamorous jobs like weeding can be a welcome respite from the craziness of taking care of kids and running a house.
Hello! I’m a beginner in garden / landscape design. I attend landscape design courses, and had two lessons already. I find your blog very useful for me, so I subscribed
Thank you.
Nadezhda,
I hope you’ll continue to enjoy your landscape design courses. They are a lot of fun and can also be challenging and thought-provoking. Good luck.
Was happy to read about the crepe myrtle protection. We have a beautiful red crepe myrtle that did not bloom this year. We have had the tree for four years. I guess we’ll have to work harder at finding ways to keep it in good shape during the winter. The blooms are worth it.
Now, if someone could just tell me what to do with my phlox.
It doesn’t die, it blooms but it is ugly. The bottom leaves turn brown. I have several plants. I’ve purchased mold-resistant but still have this problem. Help.
Janet,
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
I’m sorry to hear your crepe myrtle didn’t bloom this year. Mine didn’t either. You didn’t mention what zone you live in but I’m assuming it’s probably near the colder edge of the crepe myrtle growing zones. while I’m excited to get flowers I must say the fall color was quite a show. Almost worth having just for that.
Powdery mildew can be a big probelm with phlox – one of the reasons I don’t grow it in my own garden and usually don’t use it in my designs for clients (unless they specifically ask for it).
Here are a few tips I have heard from ‘experts’ who swear they work:
-Spray your phlox periodically with compost tea. Start as soon as the leaves get large and spray every few weeks.
- Spray your phlox periodically with ‘Wilt-Pruf.
- Spray your phlox twice/week with a mixture of 1 part milk and nine parts water.
Remember to give your phlox lots of breathing room in your garden, powderl mildew can be aggravted by close quarters.
I hope these suggestions will work for you next year. And please let me know how they work.
Teen boys in my house did enjoy burning down the ornamental grasses in late winter. Keep the hose handy!
Marcia,
Thanks for the heads up about the grasses! Luckily my boys are only interested in my plants as targets for lacrosse or golf balls. That’s bad enough.
No, it wasn’t vandalism; it was their contribution to garden cleanup!
Dear Debbie,
I just discovered your site and I look forward to reading many of the back posts. I too am a garden designer and coach. as a second career. Though I have little formal training in design, I have been gardening and designing for others for many years.
I also use my family garden as a place to try out plants and see how they behave in Zone 5b/6 in Central Ohio. It helps to see how a plant really performs beyond the hype.
On a plant post, I noticed you planted Sea Oats last summer. I would caution you and others to be sure to deadhead your sea oats located in perennial beds, and promptly weed any seedlings out in the spring, as they will take over a bed if not kept under control. They do not play nicely with others!
Hi, Debbie -
I came upon your blog when I did a Google search for a Debbie Reynolds associated with the Imaging Expo in July.
At first glance I knew I was on the wrong site, but I continued to read your blog. Very nice by the way! Its rather gloomy today in Chicago, and so I think it was your banner at the top that really lured me in. As I read thru your blog I felt the gloom of the day lift – “thanks”! Good luck with your new business – I know you’ll enjoy it. I’ve owned my business for 15 years now and everyday I’m still loving it.
I will visit your site often…as I do love in my spare time designing gardens.