Cutting Edge: Woodland Topiary

The gardens that surround my home are woodsy, indigenous, perennial-laden (thank goodness), and at the moment gushing over with foliage and fresh blooms. While colorful and overabundant might be used to describe the lush rural garden, there's nothing remotely sculpted (hardly trimmed) to provide me with any reference about the art of topiary gardening. So, when I interviewed landscaper, Keith Buesing who is known for his topiary skills for this article, I didn't know quite what to expect. In fact, when I started to research topiary gardens, they appeared a bit fussy and over-managed for my tastes.

When I strolled around the landscaper’s property, I almost missed the garden stone and plant embellishments that layered soulfully into the natural setting. Buesing considers his property the “lab” where he “transforms the land and permeates ideas.”

Buesing is the local go-to guy if you want large garden topiary installations.

Let's backtrack just a bit: For those of you unfamiliar with topiary, it is the horticultural art of training perennial plants by clipping and pruning them into a living sculpture. The first topiaries were said to have been in Roman gardens more than 2,000 years ago. Topiaries can be both fancifully witty and classically formal.

Much to the delight of Buesing's community - Gardiner, NY, he has transformed the lawn of the library with a giant green lizard reading a stone book inscribed with the words "Love, Lizard, Life, Lapidary." He also tends to a “Stegodile” - a croc that has taken on the characteristics of a Stegosaurus. The installation miraculously changed a busy, mundane state highway intersection into anything but ordinary.

It was obvious to me that in his own rustic retreat, the seemingly laid-back Buesing favors a relaxed environment. When I asked him what he was currently working on, I expected a description of a dense, mossy mountainside hide-away garden. Instead, Buesing is working on a formal English garden. Since Buesing is such a versatile landscaper, I have no doubt that meticulously edged hedges, spiral topiary, and walled gardens are totally within his realm.

Buesing has shown me that dramatic installations can be a part of a woodland retreat. Off to get boxwood…

Photos: Juliet R. Harrison Photography

Lessons From A (Pet) Heron

“Spring is nature’s way of saying, Let’s Party!” ~ Robin Williams

With all the rain, the flowers are bursting, the grass is growing, and the birds have renewed their vow to come back and nest in inconvenient places (right over my back door). Just when I thought the party was under control, my two dogs began their early morning spring barking frenzy. 5AM is now the new 8.

A Pond Story

As the sun began to rise, the pooches were falling all over each other at the glass doors - clamoring to get out to the deck that leads to the pond. After brewing my tea, I checked out the commotion. Standing elegantly on sinewy legs, was the same great blue heron that graced my pond last year. Here she stood...again, with one of our last remaining fish dangling from her beak. I opened the door and let the dogs go crazy. But, this heron is wise to my canines. She stoically turned from the beasts, walked over to a bench, glanced to the sky, then she glided up to perch on a tall tree that overhangs the pond. The heron held its ground while the guys went bananas.

When the saga began last spring, I watched helplessly as my koi fish became gourmet chow for a "scattering" of herons. This year, I'm taking a different tack...

Learning From The Heron

The last few days, I purposely woke in the wee hours to grab a glimpse of beauty radiating from this magnificent and massive creature. Refusing to be bullied, while obliterating the aquatic life in my pond, these birds have proven to me that with a quiet confidence and slow and steady wing beats, a seemingly calm temperament can ward off a multitude of dangerous situations. If two ninety-pound barking dogs don't faze the living daylights out of these birds, it would seem not much would.

Native Americans consider the great blue heron to be nature’s representation of the ability to evolve and find one’s own way. Herons are believed to reflect the journey of self-realization and clarity of purpose. The heron's long delicate legs are likened to unusual pillars of strength. Standing still, waiting patiently, and going forward with inquisitiveness, curiosity and determination are judgment skills worth learning from the heron. Her noble stature seems to go with the flow, as she welcomes the elements of nature. Thus, my heron is truly a gift, (wrapped up in a natural lifecycle eating package).

Yes, I loved my colorful koi. Now I love my heron.

Credit: Ted Fink

Repurposed Boats: Water, Weather and Whim

“Have a happy passing, purchase ” quipped our captain as our ferry headed out to sea towards the island. As we debarked and drove down the unpaved road on the island I have visited every year since I was 20, pilule I noticed small changes. The insular world of living on an island constantly changes and unfolds, as water, weather and whim dictate.

Off-season...

1. It’s quiet. This is always obvious once the swell of summer people fade away. In the spring, it’s a different kind of quiet – one that is laced with the anticipation of new growth, brighter skies, fishing and the upcoming summer season. 2. Everyone knows everyone. During the high season, islanders tolerate the seasonal visitors. On the shoulder seasons (fall and spring), the two groups co-mingle naturally. 3. People who live on islands are forever adaptive and resourceful. While much of the local economy depends upon the glut of summer people, year-rounders know they need to be both practical and imaginative to survive the off-season.

On an island, lighting and wind may change from season to season, but one thing remains constant - boats are a lifeline. When a boat’s usefulness ends, why not give it a new life?

Canoe ‘O Plants

Fishing Boat Storage Sheds

Floating Garden

Credits: Ben Scott, Recylart, Inhabitat, Garden Design