Most of us think of winter as the time when the garden sleeps and our attention turns to indoor activities. Yet
Better Homes & Gardens contributing editor Suzy Bales lures us to the windows, the garden paths, and outdoor areas to witness the beauty and vitality of the winter garden.
The possibilities for creating interest in the winter landscape are considerable. Through Suzy’s eyes, you’ll discover the intriguing patterns of tree bark; the sculptural shapes created by trees, arching vines, shrubs, and seedheads of perennials and grasses; the outline of outdoor structures, containers, and ornaments; and the unexpected but welcome dashes of color added by conifers, berries, early bulbs, and yes, even flowers. Suzy provides details on the best plants and cultivars to choose and explains how to group them for the most arresting vignettes.
Suzy devotes an entire chapter sharing her secrets for creating one-of-a-kind holiday wreaths, unique centerpieces and mantel arrangements, and striking outdoor features with greens, interesting branches, berries, cones, and seedpods from her winter garden. Sometimes whimsical, always useful, her suggestions and ideas bring the outdoors in to brighten the darkest time of year.
You will also find descriptions of places and people who celebrate winter in unusual ways, such as Les Blake, the creator of “fire and ice” sculptures in Alaska, or the village of Cooperstown, New York, that decorates for the holidays with a flourish.
This book overflows with ideas for transforming your views in winter. Plan for the quiet season by following the suggestions of garden enthusiast Suzy Bales and your garden will continue to delight you through the year.
The Garden in Winter: Plant for Beauty and Interest in the Quiet Season
On any given day, more than forty thousand horses roam the fields of the Bluegrass, and there are more than five hundred horse farms in the region known for its rich soil and rolling hills. Kentucky Horse Country: Images of the Bluegrass is renowned photographer James Archambeault’s pictorial portrait of the natural beauty of Kentucky’s Bluegrass region and the thriving thoroughbred industry for which it is famous. The book contains more than 150 full-color images ranging from tender scenes of mares and foals grazing, to the excitement of race day at Keeneland, to gorgeous landscapes of pristine white fences enclosing lush pastures. The region has long been associated with the best achievements of the equine world. In 1871, a horse named Lexington was foaled in Scott County, and many famous thoroughbreds can trace their lineage back to this great sire. Having photographed the bluegrass for decades, Archambeault is intimately familiar with the backstretch and the barns, the fields and the foals, that are known around the world. In the course of his career, he has been able to see many of the legendary horses that have made horse racing so exciting and popular: Affirmed, Alydar, Spectacular Bid, Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Cigar. Rare photographs of these and other racing royalty are included in the book. The handsome barns and well-tended pastures found throughout central Kentucky have been the home to international racing champions, and now individuals from all over the world, including England, Ireland, Japan, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia, have a stake in the region’s flourishing horse industry. As preeminent racing historian Edward L. Bowen notes in his introduction, “It is a special place where the ruler of Dubai and a stable groom have something in common; the queen of England can admire a leathery old jockey; a philanthropist and a veterinary professor have the same goals; and a bettor celebrates at the same moment that a corporate CEO grits his teeth in disappointment.” The vibrant photographs in Kentucky Horse Country are accompanied by Archambeault’s captions and narrative descriptions, as well by a lively introduction to the history of thoroughbreds in the Bluegrass by Bowen. The book also includes a foreword by Kentucky native Steve Cauthen, the youngest jockey to win the Triple Crown, who once again calls the Bluegrass his home. James Archambeault’s latest work is a Kentucky triple crown for those who love horses and horse racing, for those who revel in the magical beauty of the Bluegrass, and for those who are looking for a grand introduction to what makes this region so unique.
Kentucky Horse Country: Images of the Bluegrass (None)
From a first encounter near Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate to a picture-perfect moment in front of a Reykjavik midnight dawn, these two young dreamers have created a collection of photographic meetings that span one year and the entire globe. In 14 different destinations, dictated by their vastly different careers, they discovered a landscape far greater than either traveler had known on his own. Theirs is a universal quest in our increasingly jet-propelled and wired age: to see the world clearly in the brief moment we are given on earth, and to share those insights with another.
8 x 10.5 in.
147 color illustrations
Where Will We Meet Next?