Designing Gardens With Elegant Silvers

Looking forward to warmer weather and gardening, the February meeting of The Garden Club of Newtown will feature Karen Bussolini, who will present the program “Designing with Elegant Silvers.” Her talk will be based on her book Elegant Silvers, which she co-wrote with Jo Ann Gardner.

The program will begin at 1 pm on Tuesday, February 28, in the Olga Knoepke Memorial Room of Cyrenius H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street in Newtown.

Ms Bussolini will discuss and show slides of the many inventive ways gardeners have used silver plants in containers, borders or the larger landscape, with special attention to the use of color and texture to create exciting combinations.

Silver plants were designed by nature to withstand extremes of heat, cold, drought, wind, or, in the case of variegated silvers, to grow in shade. They include many plants that are fragrant, useful, and deer-resistant, as well as low maintenance.

Ms Bussolini, who lives and gardens in Kent, has been a gardener as long as she can remember. She had a career as an architectural photographer before specializing in garden photography, writing and lecturing. Her photographs have appeared in Garden Design, Horticulture, House Beautiful, The New York Times and many other magazines and books.

She was the sole photographer for four books: Backyard Design: Making the Most of the Space Around Your House, A Country Garden for Your Backyard, The Unsung Season: Gardens and Gardeners in Winter by Newtown author Sydney Eddison, and her own book, Elegant Silvers: Striking Plants for Every Garden.

Ms Bussolini’s writing has been published in Garden Design, House Beautiful, Better Homes and Gardens, The American Gardener, and many other publications.  She is known for her writing on gardening from personal experience.

Additionally, she has taught at The New York Botanical Garden and received awards from The Garden Writers Association in 2001 and 2004.

The public is invited to attend the free lecture and registration is not necessary. For more information call 270-1108.