Click on this photo to see it in the KHS photo note cards/prints gallery.Generally when I feature garden tours, I focus on flower gardens and the accompanying shrubs, trees and landscape architecture that frame them. But it recently dawned on me that I’ve been leaving out a significant portion of the gardens we know and love -- those of the edible variety.

Now that I have my own idjit garden at my local community garden, in which most everything is edible (even my Mammoth Russian sunflower shown above with seeds in an early stage), I’m wishing I’d taken myself on a few edible-garden tours prior to planting. How nice it would have been to learn the various design attributes of vegetable, fruit, and herb plants from the example of others in advance.

Instead, I crowded several Sun Gold tomato seedlings into opposite corners of one, four-foot by four-foot, raised bed and then threw in a few more, for good measure, so I thought. Today, two and one-half months later, those tomatoes have crowded out the sunflower and what had been a beautiful grouping of Swiss chard and sprightly bush beans. Sure, I love the tomatoes, but now I’m the proud caretaker of a small jungle, rather than a garden.

For those interested in picking up a few pointers for next season, I suggest visiting your local community gardens. I bet a number of them are loaded with edibles and populated by gardeners happy to share their insights. If you’re local to Salem, we have three community garden locations: Winter Island, Palmer Cove and Mack Park. Take a self-guided tour. Get inspired.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast

There's a lot to keep a house and garden enthusiast happily occupied in Provincetown this month at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM).

Next weekend catch the PAAM Secret Garden Tour and companion Art of the Garden exhibit of floral works selected from the Museum's permanent collection. This year's tour features west-end gardens and a special lecture by gardening expert Suzy Bales.  

If you're fortunate enough to have more time available in P'town, check out the Gathering: Art about Architecture exhibit (June 25-August 29). It explores "art by three architects and architecture by three artists," including work by John Hejduk, Serge Chermayeff, John M. Johansen, Angela Dufresne, Peter Hutchinson, and Michelle Weinburg. Drop by the opening reception Friday, July 9, 2010, 8-10pm.

Meanwhile, have a great 4th of July holiday!

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Click on this photo to see it in the KHS photo note cards/prints gallery.Recommended upcoming New England tours

Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill (Boston, MA) Thursday, May 20, 2010 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Concord Museum 21st Annual Garden Tour (Concord, MA) Friday-Saturday, June 4-5, 2010 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

South Windsor Garden Tour & Plant Sale (South Windsor, CT) Sunday, June 6, 2010 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

Farmington/Unionville Friends Kitchen and Garden Tour (Farmington/Unionville, CT) Saturday, June 12, 2010 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Guilford Secret Garden Tour (Guilford, CT) Saturday, June 12, 2010 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Newburyport Annual Garden Tour (Newburyport, MA) Saturday-Sunday, June 12-13, 2010 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Charlestown Gardens by the Sea (Charlestown, RI) Saturday, June 12, 2010

New Castle Village Walk and Garden Tour (New Castle, NH) Sunday, June 13, 2010 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Portsmouth Pocket Garden Tour (Portsmouth, NH) Friday-Saturday, June 18-19, 2010

South End Garden Tour (Boston, MA) Saturday, June 19, 2010 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Newport Summer Secret Garden Tour (Newport, RI) Friday-Sunday, July 9-11, 2010 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Provincetown Art Association and Museum Secret Garden Tour (Provincetown, MA) Sunday, July 11, 2010 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Camden Garden Club House and Garden Tour (Camden, ME) Thursday, July 15, 2010 9:30 am - 4:00 pm

Pittsfield Garden Tour (Pittsfield, MA) Saturday, July 17, 2010 10:00 am – 4:00 pm and Sunday, July 18, 2010 noon – 4:00 pm

Private Gardens of the Kennebunk’s Tour (Kennebunk, ME) Saturday, July 17, 2010 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Nantucket Annual House & Garden Tour (Nantucket, MA) Wednesday, August 11, 2010 11:00 am - 4:30 pm

The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days:
Connecticut: Fairfield County June 6, 26; July 18, 2010
Connecticut: Litchfield County June 13, 20, 26; July 25; August 29, 2010
Maine: York County July 24-25, 2010
Massachusetts: Marblehead June 27, 2010
Massachusetts: Martha’s Vineyard June 28, 2010
New Hampshire: Monadnock Region/Greater Manchester June 26-27, 2010
New Hampshire: Hanover June 26, 2010
Vermont: Lake Champlain Valley June 19-20, 2010
Vermont: Upper Valley June 26, 2010

Click on this photo to see it in the KHS photo note cards/prints gallery.Some landscapes enthrall visitors season after season. Polly Hill Arboretum on Martha’s Vineyard is among them. I’ve featured gems from the 20-acre cultivated grounds before. Remember the robust outdoor fireplace?
 
During my most recent visit, I rediscovered the leathery, peeling bark of the Stewartia. The eye-catching bark is but one highlight of this stunning specie which offers mid-summer blossoms and colorful leaves come fall. Polly Hill Arboretum boasts twenty Stewartia varieties, clustered in groves and featured as specimens. 

Visit the Arboretum any day between sunrise and sunset to take in the breadth and beauty this Island respite offers. The Visitor Center is open Memorial Day weekend to Columbus Day, and informative daily tours are available between those dates. Mark you calendars.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast

Did you see The New York Times article last week about the garage retreat near Seattle?  It's a fun and sophisticated 250-square-foot getaway.

A small space of one's own, beyond the hustle and bustle of everyday life, can remind us of life's simple pleasures. Such little buildings generally tread lightly on both the environment and our pocketbooks, while recharging our spirits.

The design of small retreats, backyard and beyond would be a great topic for a book, don't you think?  I thought so and was working on such a book a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, it fell victim to the publishing industry's downsizing which began in mid-2008. I still believe there's a book there, waiting to be discovered.

You can sample a Katie Hutchison Studio small retreat design by visiting the Manchester Garage/Garden Room page in the KHS architectural portfolio.

I imagine my fascination with the topic started with my childhood backyard retreat and was reinforced by my mother's current, petite summerhouse in her Connecticut village. I wrote about her garden and her little retreat in a House Garden Primer.

Get a peek at her garden summerhouse in this short Flip video.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast