More Living Ideas
Our editors share their inspirations every day
Meet the Bloggers
Name: Andrew Beckman
Job title: Editorial Director of Gardening
Hometown: Mason, Michigan
My current garden: 25 acres of field and wood and garden in Claverack, New York -- way too much for my partner Bob and I to manage.
My horticultural education and experience: Bachelors in Landscape Architecture from Michigan State University, the Professional Garden Training Program at Longwood Gardens, estate gardener for Stephen Sondheim and Mrs. William Hammerstein, Head gardener for Martha Stewart, co-owner of Loomis Creek Nursery.
Favorite plant: The one I like the most right now is the bigleaf magnolia or Magnolia macrophylla that we planted five years ago. Its leaves are a foot wide and two feet long and the flower is as big as your head.
Least favorite plant: Roses, roses, roses
I never garden without:Sunscreen, I look leathery enough already.
Worst gardening experience: Since Martha may read this I can’t tell my worst experience, that will have to go with me to the grave. Instead, I will say it was the time I pulled bushels of drumstick alliums seedlings from Stephen Sondheim's garden thinking they were weeds.
Where I go for inspiration: When I cant get out into a real garden, I go to books. I have been adding to my garden library for years and it is a big source of ideas and information. On a blustery winter day, it's a nice retreat.
Contributor's Archive
Posted by Andrew Beckman
Last week, a friend called to invite me to view the blooming of his night-blooming cereus (Cereus peruvianus, a sprawling spineless cactus) that he has been growing for …
Tags: cereus, evening gardening, flowers, four o'clocks, night blooming plants
Posted on September 1, 2010 in Photo Galleries | direct link to this entry |
Posted by Andrew Beckman
I received the Seed Savers fall newsletter earlier this week with the disturbing news that one of the great repositories of fruit and vegetables, the Pavlovsk Station in Russia, …
Tags: biodiversity, Pavlovsk Station
Posted on August 27, 2010 in Edible Gardening | direct link to this entry |
Posted by Andrew Beckman
In our August issue of Living, Martha showed off her beautiful collection of succulents in the courtyard in front of her home. When I was her head gardener, …
Tags: agave, magazine, plant ID
Posted on August 25, 2010 in Behind the Scenes, Container Gardening | direct link to this entry |
Posted by Andrew Beckman
I am actually pretty excited to be participating in Bloom Day for the first time. Does that make me a complete garden geek? Well, so be it. I …
Tags: day lily, phlox
Posted on August 15, 2010 in Bloom Day, Color, Photo Galleries | direct link to this entry |
Posted by Andrew Beckman
First, let me say that I think orchids are among the loveliest flowers in nature. Note that I said “loveliest flowers,” not “loveliest plants.” Almost all of those …
Tags: houseplants, orchids
Posted on August 13, 2010 in Indoor Plants | direct link to this entry |
Posted by Andrew Beckman
Bob and I didn’t plant very many containers this year. Who knows why, maybe we knew we would be watering the garden all season long and wouldn’t have …
Posted on August 11, 2010 in Color, Container Gardening, In the garden, Photo Galleries | direct link to this entry |
Posted by Andrew Beckman
If the turkey vultures are my new best friends, then this little guy is my arch nemesis. He and his multitudinous kin are running wild in my garden …
Tags: garden pests, pest control, pests, rabbits
Posted on August 4, 2010 in In the garden, Pests | direct link to this entry |
Posted by Andrew Beckman
This guy and his pals are my new best friends. The farmer hayed the fields surrounding my house this weekend and as soon as the baler left the …
Tags: garden pests
Posted on August 2, 2010 in In the garden | direct link to this entry |
Posted by Andrew Beckman
Hoses. I hate them. They kink constantly, they are heavy, and I am always looking behind me to make sure that I have not dragged them over the …
Tags: garden nightmares, hoses
Posted on July 30, 2010 in In the garden, Tools and Techniques | direct link to this entry |
