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In 1991, garden designer and author Paige Dickey wrote a colorful chronicle, "Duck Hill Journal," about her family's move to the country and the carefully conceived garden she created on three North Salem, NY acres. Now she visits New Canaan Library on March 6 to talk about her new garden memoir, Embroidered Ground: Revisiting the Garden," in which she reviews the 30 year history of her garden. A theme of her account is how she and her husband, both in their 70s, are re-conceiving its carefully planned spaces to accomodate a new stage in their lives. They are rearranging, pulling up and out and re-thinking many plantings to lessen the physical work required to maintain. I have a fraction of the vigor I once had, with bones that now creak and muscles that scream in protest, she writes. An author of seven books, Dickey helped found the Garden Conservancy's Open Gardens Days, in which private gardens open to visitors. She is a frequent lecturer and has contributed to many magazines, including House & Garden, House Beautiful and Elle Decor.
A primer for baby boomers, "Embroidered Ground" offers many ideas to help gardeners replace and re-think so they, too, can adapt their garden to their own more limited physical strength and energy. To make the change, Dickey believes it's important to consider the big picture. As she told the NY Times, We need an overall plan: more green architecture and less plants. If that dictum strikes a chord, or you just admire this very talented gardener-writer, be sure to hear Paige Dickey's fruitful talk at New Canaan Library. The event is free and begins at 3:30 p.m. For more information, visit the Library's website.
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