Esteemed NYT garden writer Anne Raver interviews exceptional garden writer Tovah Martin. You can read the whole story here.
What a gift it is to work with friends! When Timber Press asked me to join forces with David and Adam to create a book on David’s garden in Chester County, PA, I agreed at once. We originally planned for six visits over the course of a year but it took a second year and 32 total visits to get the full range of seasons. The publisher asked for 200 images but we couldn’t whittle the count down past 300. So they published all 300+! and used a format that fits the verticals nicely. The design and print quality is exceptional, and the writing is personable and informative. David’s a gifted story teller and Adam, a brilliant interviewer and wordsmith. You’ll certainly want to visit his garden this spring — he opens it up to tours. You can buy the book here.
I’ve been shooting for the Gardener’s Supply catalog for a few years and this is the first cover I’ve done. It’s a great company. Sure, they carry a remarkable selection of cool garden tools and innovative products, but they also employ some of the nicest people around. Everyone I deal with there is so darn generous and friendly ! Maybe it’s the Vermont water or the nearby Ben &Jerry’s discount outlet or the fact that they’re employee owned. Whatever it is, I wish we all had more of it.
Styling and plant wrangling by the talented Nancy Ondra. Her mom made the little purple fence– a perfect counterpoint to the poppies.
When I built raised beds last year, I struggled with the corners. Tried 4×4 blocks at first-but getting them assembled required two more arms and three more hands than I had. Finally got the Gardener’s Supply pre-made corners for the second set and the beds flew together. Highly recommended!
A few random images from a day in San Francisco
No one loves the rain — especially when you’re a tourist in sunny California. Or a garden photographer heading to the unusual gardens of Alcatraz. All the beds I had planned on shooting were wind tossed and soggy so I turned my lens on my fellow visitors shielding themselves from the nonstop downpour.
Way before the movie Hugo, I’ve been fascinated by those mechanical arcade gypsies who moved, blinked and delivered a fortune when you dropped a coin in the slot. I fell upon a treasure trove of them this week along with ancient pinballs, hand cranked animated stereographs and creaky orchestrions in the Musee Mechanique by Fisherman’s Wharf. My inner ten year old was in heaven…
Just spent a fun weekend with master light painter Harold Ross. He’s been making this magic for twenty some years and his techniques, tools and teaching methods are brilliant. Using little flashlights with diffusing tubes, we painted each tool and surface in a darkened studio and then composited the 20+ exposures in Photoshop. I’ve never made friends with Photoshop so learning the language of layers and masks was challenging. But I can see so many applications to landscape work..
The tools are heirlooms passed down from my Grandfather, Harry Logiodice. By trade a carpenter, plumber and mechanic, his multicolored approach was more than a way to identify his tools at a job site — it was his art. And combined with the patina of use from his large, callused hands, they’ve become wonderful keepsakes.
