From across the Pond

Hi, I hope there is room for a Yank around here. I am 40 something professional gardener that takes care of several gardens both large and small. I live in Connecticut, about an hour from NYC. I am an avid botanical photographer. That is probably my favorite thing to do outside of work, although I do love playing the guitar and piano in a local band.

I have lived in Britain twice. Spending several of my formative years in Weybridge, Surrey and a year in Hammersmith as an adult. I do love the gardens there and often get requests for English gardens here. I tell the people we maybe able to emulate the style but that I am a, for better or worse, American gardener.

I have a few friends that live in the UK. One lives in Somerset, another in Devon and one in Norfolk. I try and get over to see them every couple of years and this maybe one of them. One friend in particular understands my love of gardening and has taken me to Westonbirt and arranged a private tour of Highgrove from me.

I hope to do some comparisons here between what grows in the UK and what grows here, in a friendly way. I hope that is of interest to some of the members of this forum.

Chris

 

Hello digital flower and welcome to GC!

I used to live in Granby, Connecticut, many, many years ago but I am not American, however, t'other half is. He's from Cincinnati but we met when we both lived in Alabama.

There are a lot of interesting people here with a lot of knowledge in all aspects so maybe you will learn something but, due to your professional, assist with questions and problems as well.

Enjoy!

 

Hi chris you are most welcome to G C we have members far and wide,wow fabulous photography love the orchids

 

Well thank you for the warm welcome. For a small state I am always shocked at the people that I meet that have a connection to Connecticut. I live in Danbury in the SW part of the state. It is a nice area to garden here other than the winter being a little harsh. That is one aspect I am interested in learning about, the hardiness areas in the UK as it appears to be very diverse. I have been lurking a bit and it does seem to be a very knowledgeable and friendly group. I have an expression that ââ?¬Ë?you never too old or too smart to learn something about gardeningââ?¬â?¢. Of all aspects of gardening I think my favorite is the sharing of knowledge and the successes and failure that we go through.

 

Hi Walnut,
Thanks for the comments on the photos. That is a passion of mine. I want to learn more about Orchids.

Chris

 

Hi digital flower and welcome, I haven't had time to look at your photos yet - too busy gardening, the weather is glorious here at the mo - but hope to get around to it sometime.

 

Hi digital flower and a warm welcome from me too. You met my sister further up in this thread (LofL). I live in Germany, Hubby is German, we met and married in Alabama, son is American, dil German and grandsons German-American. Oh, and Kid Sis and I are Welsh.

 

Chris I have posted you a couple of links on the general gardening discusion page on plant hardiness zones in the uk

 

Hi, Digital Flower! Welcome to GC - I've had a brief look around your photos - they're lovely! :D

 

You couldn't pick a better place, Webmaster ... a truly beautiful part of the country. I can vouche for that! I (and K-G obviously) lived on Long Island, another beautiful place ... as is South Carolina where I've lived ... and Alabama ...

 

Thanks Blackthorn for the welcome. Stop by anytime the website is open 24/7

Thanks for visiting my site and thanks for the welcome.

I think I like New England the best, too. We have a bit of topography, a lot of trees, some history and of course Boston. If you do come don't forget to visit one of the best of our 50 states, Vermont. You might also like the Pacific Northwest also. The weather is similar to what you are used to, you know, very brief sunny periods followed by a lot of rain The Washington/Oregon area is probably one the best areas for gardening in the states. A great deal of our plant stocks are raised there.

I do love Long Island. At a 118 miles long and about 20 miles wide is the largest island in the Continental United States. It is around #20 population-wise in Islands around the world (more people than Jamaica, Ireland, or Sicily). Nassau County is the 5th richest in the United States. It is a wonderful place to grow a garden as the sandy soil and warm marine influence contribute to a climate one to two zones above Connecticut�s Zone 6 rating. There used to be a lot of farms and large wholesale plant nurseries but sadly skyrocketing land values are destroying that aspect of the Island. I still go out there buying if I have a large job, you cannot beat the prices, they are very low. If you love the beach then you will love Long Island it has some of the best.

Hello to you, too. That sounds like quite a family you have there. Holidays must be fun at your house.

Oh, another person with a Connecticut connection. The nice thing about my Danbury is it is almost exactly in between Hartford and New York City. It is nice we can be friendly even after April 26th, 1777 :D

It is a small world as I was born in Greenwich Hospital! Your friend�s garden sounds like one of the gardens I take care of. My favorite internet small world story is about an an Australian photography forum I was visiting. I was commenting on some photos that member had posted and another member posted on the thread. After awhile he and I realized that he lived only 6 houses down the street from me. We have since gone out shooting a couple of times.

Oops, I have been rambling here. Once again thank you everybody and I am looking forward to seeing you around the forum.

[ 10. April 2007, 04:33 AM: Message edited by: digital flower ]

 

Hello and welcome to GC Digital flower