Our Blog
Here’s Looking at You …
Contributed by Allan Robinson Near my front door, which I use multiple times every day, is an ornamental tree that I admire. I take a sense of pride in this tree, as my partner and I planted it back in '08. The day was warm and the tree perhaps a tad too big for both...
Adding Autumn Splash to Your Home
Contributed by Tim Wholey Every year around this time we send kids back to school, dodge increased traffic and get the feel of shorter days, cooler nights, and hints of the crisp scents of autumn. Our gardens and seasonal containers also start showing their age but...
Cones, Conifers and a Road Trip
Don’t look for the whole crew and I on August 14th – 16th. We will be in Philly for the Northeast regional meeting of the American Conifer Society. The Society’s purpose is “…to promote the use of conifers in the garden and landscape and to educate the public...
When Irish Gardens are Smiling
Ireland - what a country! An island with moderating temperatures, long daylight in the summer and plentiful rain. Colors are sharper and greens are greener. Having just spent two weeks on a garden tour on the southern coast of...
Flea Market Finds … One person’s junk is another person’s garden treasure!
Contributed by Brian McGinn One Sunday every spring and one every fall brings a large outdoor Antique Flea Market to my local fairground. It boasts a very diverse group of vendors with a very diverse collection of antiques but more realistically they are selling junk....
The ornamental grass isn’t always greener …
Contributed by Allan Robinson What color is your grass? Many idolize the rich emerald green of a lawn. I must confess that after I've planted a small patch of lawn in my reconfigured backyard, I have green lawn envy too. But what about ornamental grasses that come in...
On the Menu: Top Five Plants for Our Pollinator Friends
Contributed by Jim Lynn Flowers are finally blooming full force out in the gardens! The early ephemeral plants and bulbs have passed by to make way for the great showy blooms of late spring and early summer. With growing interest in the health of pollinating insects...
On the Rocks
Contributed by Allan Robinson For many of us, when we think of the contents of a garden we often think of plants - our favorite perennials, trees or shrubs. Perhaps an arbor, wall, bench or chair, maybe even a hammock. Some of us may think of sculptural elements...
IT’S A DRY HEAT
Spring semi-drought continues Contributed by Lynn Hutchinski You would think we wouldn’t have to worry about watering now after all that snow we slogged through this past winter. However, you’d better get out your watering hoses and sprinklers. After a...
Mulch…it’s a texture thing…
Contributed by Brian McGinn The answer to whether or not to mulch your garden beds is simply…YES! Adding a layer of mulch to your garden does many things: enhances soil nutrition by adding nutrients as it decomposes (reducing the need for fertilizers), reduces the...
GARDEN MESS OR OPPORTUNITY?
Contributed by Lynn Hutchinski Surveying my garden today in the early morning chill (only 38 degrees – much better than 17!), I was struck by what a disaster area it seems to be. After a much ballyhooed record-breaking winter of snow in the Boston area and after a...
SNOW MELTING – should I close my eyes?
As the temperature warms this week, the woody plants of your garden will start to show again. Oh, the irony of finally seeing your “winter interest plants” now that spring is almost here! We are getting inquiries about how to handle damage seen on shrubs and small...
Pining For My Pines
In our last blog for 2014 you might expect the theme of gratitude: to our clients, our staff, our vendors and our colleagues. But that would be so predictable! (but really, THANK YOU TO ALL!) Instead I want to talk about the sense of disconnection I feel in winter...
The Winter Garden: What do you see out the window?
A walk through the winter garden after a fresh blanket of snow has fallen…the angled sunlight streams through, casting shadows of the bare tree and shrub branches…a feeling of stillness and peacefulness surrounds you. A favorite view from a window reveals a distilled...
Water in the Winter and Antidesiccants
If you’ve ever participated in winter sports, you know how easy it is to forget to drink water with snow around, yet once you do, you realize how thirsty you are! It is easy to get dehydrated if you’ve been outside for a while in the winter sun. Plants are no...
Can I come play at your house really soon?
My annuals are fading and my hosta is mushy. The cold predicted for the end of this week will certainly kill anything freezeable. Bye bye to summer and fall. But instead of being sad, I am excited. In a couple weeks I get to do one of my favorite things: make...
The Good and the Ugly: Beneficial Bugs
The growing season is coming to an end and we are busy closing our gardens and making preparations for next year. So much to do! Cutting back perennials, cleaning up a seemingly endless supply of leaves, planting bulbs for that early spring splash of color. Even with...
CONIFERS CAUSE PANIC!
We delight in fall’s multicolored leaves and perennials that color like chameleons. Northeastern states are famous for their fall foliage … on deciduous plants. But we gardeners are not so happy about all plant coloring. Yes, there is that ominous side of Autumn:...
Falling into Spring!
Autumn leaves are falling and covering your garden like a patchwork quilt. Yellows, oranges, reds and all kinds of browns create the soothing color palette of fall. Ornamental grasses have hit their stride and perennial Asters, Chrysanthemums, Sedums and Goldenrod all...
A Downside to Sunny Skies?
We love this lovely sunny weather –blue skies and crisp air. However, for each day it is sunny, your plants go another day without water. The Boston area hasn’t had more than an inch or two of appreciable rainfall in the past two and a half months, when we usually get...
Not Your Average Screening Solution
This past spring we were asked to design the impossible: create a visual screen along the property line that was tall, narrow, wouldn’t block the sun and wasn’t a fence. Hmmmm … A row of tall evergreens or a tree was nixed due to the added shade and depth of...
A Room with a View
It’s not just a phrase limited to travel destinations or books anymore. And why should it be? We all have indoor windows that seize our attention – like over the kitchen sink or across the dining table. With thoughtful design and intentional plant selection, your view...
WHERE DO GROWN-UPS LIKE ME GO TO CAMP?
As a grown-up who didn’t go to camp in the summers, this summer I found myself surprised to be looking at a list of “what to bring” to sculpture camp. My partner and I went to SNOWFARM, a New England craft program in Western MA. It is where grown-ups can go for a week...
Hydrangea No-Show 2014 – Why Aren’t My Hydrangeas Blooming?
After a very long and VERY cold winter, the traditional Mophead Hydrangea is a truly cherished and anticipated symbol of summer in New England gardens. In many of our Fine Gardening client’s gardens this season our crew has encountered Hydrangea macrophylla or the...
CONNECTIONS KEEP US FRESH
Over the past 10 years outdoor trends have shifted from preening sprawling lawns to now providing habitats for wildlife, reducing turf, and using native plants in the gardens. Christie Dustman & Company has been growing gardens for 16 years and has witnessed many...
How Plant Tags Can Help You Garden Better
Do you wish your yard looked like some of your neighbors? Do you feel like they got the GARDEN HANDBOOK and you were absent that day? Well, take it from a long time gardener: getting the right plant for the right place isn’t so easy. There are so many factors to...
Beat the heat – plant a tree
Summer is almost here. Summer means vacation and a chance to beat the heat in the city. Perhaps we head out to the beach, the mountains or a walk in the woods. Somewhere cooler. When we picture comfortable summer temperatures, we seldom think of heading into the...
Help…when do I prune spring flowering shrubs and trees?
The show is over…spring blooming shrubs and trees have put on their much appreciated display. With blossoms just passing by, your plant is already planning for spring 2015. It is hard for us humans to remember that this is the right time to prune those same plants. ...
WHAT AM I PROUD OF?
I wrote a blog about a Career Day panel that I was on recently. Funny thing – being on a Career Panel. The audience was comprised of landscape design students, each eager to gain insight into what it means to be a garden designer. It is kind of like facing your...
Shear madness
Gum drops, meatballs and blobs: believe it or not, these are typical shrub shapes commonly found in many suburban neighborhoods. Well-intentioned homeowners and professionals alike regularly shear off each year's new growth, forcing bushes into visions of symmetrical...
About Christie Dustman
Christie Dustman is a life-long gardener and owner of Christie Dustman & Company, Inc.
Create A Garden That Feels Like Home
We want you to fall in love with your landscape. And we’ll work with you to make that dream a reality.
We translate your wants, needs and vision into a practical and aesthetically pleasing landscape. By carefully listening, examining your landscape and bringing ingenuity to the drafting table, you’ll experience an “ah-ha, that’s it!” moment.
