My path to gardening wasn’t a straight one. It all began on the business side when I acquired Garden Design Magazine in 2013. This became a part of our family of brands, including ConcreteNetwork.com, which I started back in 1999.
Over time, the magic of the people, gardens, plants, and the garden lifestyle gradually captured my heart. By 2020, when Covid hit, I reached out to David Culp with an idea: could we do Zoom webinars that took us on monthly journeys through his garden, inspired by his wonderful book, *A Year at Brandywine Cottage*? David graciously agreed, and those webinars became a source of joy for thousands. David taught me invaluable lessons like, “Look closer, you’ll see so much,” and “Gardens are for people.”
I had known Rebecca Sweet for many years, but through this webinar series, we grew closer. By 2023, Rebecca had joined as a co-host and also became an advisor to Garden Design.
It was Rebecca who introduced me to Freeland and Sabrina Tanner's garden. She captured the essence of their garden beautifully in a blog post:
“To me, breathtaking gardens are those that cause your heart to skip a beat. Time slows down as you take in every little detail, knowing you’re someplace special. This is the garden’s soul, a direct reflection of the gardener who created it, something that simply can’t be replicated.”
Earlier this year, Sabrina Tanner extended a warm invitation for my wife Valarie and me to visit and stay in their guest house. We were utterly enchanted by the Tanners and their garden. They were incredibly generous with their knowledge, sharing insights on creating a garden that truly resonates.
As fate would have it, they love teaching, and I had been searching for a way to expand our programs beyond online webinars. Rebecca, who is the Tanner garden’s biggest fan and a talented designer herself, seemed the perfect host.
And so, the idea was born: to bring together a small group of passionate gardeners at the Tanner garden, where everything could be demonstrated and experienced firsthand. Here’s what we envisioned:
In closing, as Freeland explained various garden design concepts to me, he looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and said, “But you don’t have to.” And he’s right, isn’t he? None of us *have* to do any of this—but we’re hooked on gardening, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
