This weekend was amazing in Central Ohio, with sun and temps in the 60s you can tell spring is right around the corner. I spent the majority of the weekend on my in-law’s new property cutting down dead ash trees and and cleaning up brush (more on that in another post). Since I spent my weekend mainly with a chainsaw in hand I did not plan much for a blog post so this will be random.

Wasting time with: Instagram – I am about two years late to joining this platform and am still getting ramped up. You can follow me at Nickmccland. Please give me great folks to follow –

Not Reading: Garden Design Folding – I am sure everyone has heard by now that Garden Design Magazine has folded with April being the last issue. I wonder if the folding is due to the lack of embracing the digital medias or aligning the content with the correct target audience (never fully satisfying the hobbyists or professionals). It could just be that a larger audience does not care about the typically more modern ascetic they magazine often showcased. With only 185,741 subscribers there is some reason that is beyond it being an expensive magazine to publish. I will miss the magazine and am excited to see how the garden design industry responds with filling the void (and what Bonnier will send instead to fulfill my subscription). For fellow design magazine junkies, I strongly suggestion you fill your gardening/landscape desire with Gardens Illustrated Magazine out of the UK. You can get a year subscription for $75 from Amazon and hands down this is the best gardening magazine for gardens both large and small, modern and classical and veggie or perennial focused. Even those digital reader folks can order a digital version on Zinio.

Watching: Around the World in 80 Gardens. I found the Youtube series from back in 2008 that features Monty Don visiting 80 influential gardens from around the world.  Some are famous public gardens while others are often unseen private gardens. The episode from the United States includes both Monticello and Jack Lenor Larsen’s Home LongHouse in the Hamptons. What is great about videos turning the garden is you get to see the how items relate to each other beyond just the great focal point shot. I have a few more episodes to finish watching but so far have been really enjoying the show and going to keep my eyes open for the accompanying book.  You can find the series uploaded here via Youtube.