VT (for all of my design-obsessed peeps)

photocourtesyofhabituallychicblog Peeps, My neighbor, Lady Emblom is a devoted gardener who almost wordlessly ushered me away from convention and towards a wider gaze.  Not for her are the pastels and softness of pink, coral, and white David Austin roses; nor is she inclined to limit her labors to boxwood, ferns, hollies, laurels--the stalwarts of those who still cling to the notion of compulsory all-year interest, and undoubtedly also to the crossing-guard's hand long after the all-clear signal has been given. Maggie's garden is ablaze with the dynamic combination of fiery-red crocismia planted next to orange day-lilies and courted by undulating banks of strawberry-colored snap-dragons.  Equally captivating are masses of lily-of-the-valley frolicking with queen of the night tulips, this contrast of white against deepest purple, almost black causes neighborhood strollers to always stop and stare.  Frequently I gaze through the crepe-myrtle branches upon th...