A Tour of a New England Garden
Today, we’ll take a tour of an amazing New England garden, with the fabulously talented (and immensely kind and incredibly hardworking) gardener behind its design and implementation as our very special host. When you take a stroll through these grounds, you’ll see exactly the kind of glorious results that a combination of inspiration, creativity, gardening know-how, and old-fashioned Yankee stick-to-itiveness can achieve.
I’d first had the pleasure of making Jill Brown’s acquaintance on Twitter a couple of years ago, and was immediately impressed by her gardening skills. The photos she’d share on that platform of her amazing garden spoke for themselves. Jill clearly knew how to grow stuff, and she clearly knew how to display it in the landscape. Her work was remarkable. And Jill Brown is one of social media’s truly fine people. She’s an absolute gem in every sense of the word. So, when I floated the idea to Jill of an RGG video tour of her garden, with Jill herself as the tour guide, and she agreed, I was positively elated. A tour of one of my very favorite gardens, conducted by one of my very favorite people? Yes, please!
Jill’s been a New Englander her entire life, so she’s got the advantage of familiarity with the often-tricky zone 5 climate of her Worcester County, Massachusetts garden. But that ability to successfully negotiate those hot summers and brutal nor’easters endemic to her part of the world comprises only a portion of the whole Jill Brown gardening package. Her curiosity, open-mindedness, passion, work ethic, design skills, utter lack of pretense, and her determination and diligence have resulted in her creation and implementation of, over the course of seven years, a breathtakingly beautiful garden environment on her land. Old-fashioned Yankee stick-to-itiveness? Jill Brown is the very definition.
Jill’s introduction to gardening came with her growing of a vegetable garden, “with a few flowers,” thirteen years ago. Seven years ago, she bought her current home, and began her gardening journey there with what amounted exactly to a blank slate: no plants, no hardscape, no landscape, no anything that was even remotely garden-related: just a beautiful house, and an acre of raw land.
Fast-forward to the present day… Jill tends her burgeoning, floriferous, fertile acre with her faithful gardening assistants – her pups, Lexy and Tilly – by her side. And her garden now plays host to a wide variety of over-the-top gorgeous ornamental perennials, bushes, and trees, plus vegetables, strawberries, blueberries, a peach tree, and peanuts. Her design of each of her garden features, as this video tour will attest, is remarkable. Jill tells me that her favorite flowers are her peonies (“for their fragrance and sweet childhood memories”), her echinacea (“for the pollinators”), and her dahlias (“for their elegance, grace, and inner strength, for which they’re known”). Believe it or not, after all of this time that she’s spent researching and learning, digging and growing, and designing and creating her paradisial New England garden, Jill still refers to herself as a gardening “hobbyist.” And when I asked Jill if, over the course of her gardening adventures, she’d developed a specialty, she remarked, in typically humble Jill Brown style, “Weeds.”
Now, gang, watch this video tour and tell me if this particular New England garden looks like the work of a hobbyist to you. Jill Brown, in my own not-so-humble opinion, is a master gardener; her Yankee stick-to-itiveness, among her other qualities, has helped cement this status, and her garden tour will make this truth self-evident.
Click the image link immediately below to take the tour.
Hobbyist? Yeah, right. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya. Remarkable garden, remarkable gardener. (And an even more remarkable person.) To see more of Jill, her two four-legged helpers, and her magnificent garden, of course, please follow her on Twitter (or “X,” if you’d prefer). She posts regularly there, so you’ll get a look at what’s going down in that garden of hers in real time. Plus, you’ll get a chance to know Jill better. That benefit alone is worth the follow.
Thanks for taking the tour, gang. As always, I thank you kindly for your interest, your readership, and your viewership.
Cheers, and Happy Gardening!
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Congratulations!!!
I just imagine all the hours and effort spent to create such a beauty. The arrangement, the pruning reflects such a great eye for detail. Everything looks so perfect… absolutely BEAUTIFUL… a total delight for the eyes. Thank you for sharing it with us!
I enjoyed every minute 🙏🌹🌹🌹❤️
Thank you for your lovely thoughts, Roxxy, and thank you so much for watching Jill’s video tour – I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! She’s really put an incredible amount of work into that beautiful place, hasn’t she? Thank you once again, Roxxy!
Oh my goodness, thank you Roxxy for your lovely comments, which just made my day and made me smile! John’s site has been such a help in building and maintaining my gardens. Thank you again, I’m still smiling!
You are so kind, thank you, JILL!!! And congratulations again on that amazing paradise 🌹🌹🌹❤️
Jill, your garden is lovely! The dahlias are my favorite. It’s clear that you are a talented gardener and a wonderful person! Thank you for sharing your beautiful garden with all of us! ❤️
Thank you, Tina, for watching Jill’s lovely tour of her amazing garden, and for your kind words here. I do agree. She is an extremely talented gardener and one of the finest people you’ll ever meet. I believe that her fine character is very evident in her work, and shows itself clearly in her gorgeous garden. Thank you once again, Tina!
Thank you for your lovely encouraging message, Kristina. I learn so much from John’s website, hasn’t he built a wonderful space to learn and share? Looking forward to seeing other gardens to be featured here. Thank you again, you made me smile!
Spectacular garden. I truly enjoyed the video. Much love has been put into the making of this lovely space.
Thank you so much for watching the video, Rick. I’m so glad that you enjoyed Jill’s lovely tour. You’re absolutely right about all of the love she’s put into her wonderful, wonderful garden. It is her passion, and it clearly shows. It’s a great honor and pleasure for me to feature Jill’s beautiful garden tour here on The Renaissance Garden Guy. Her efforts are amazing, and it’s appropriate that the gorgeous results of those efforts are shared with an appreciative global audience. Thanks once again, Rick. Your interest and your kindness are truly appreciated.
Thank you so much for watching, Rick, I really appreciate your kind words. So much helpful information on John’s site. The slugs may get me down, but your words lift me up, thank you!
Can’t thank you enough, John, for your fantastic website, a beautiful and fun place to learn all about gardening – and then some! I’m eager to see your other readers’ gardens and to hear about their gardening experiences, too. You’ve created a beautiful place here, thank you!
And I can’t thank you enough, Jill, for allowing The RGG audience and me to tag along during your amazing garden tour. It’s entirely my honor, and my great pleasure, to host you, your gorgeous garden, and your excellent tour here on The Renaissance Garden Guy. You’re an incredibly talented and creative ambassador of our green and growing brethren, and an absolute pleasure to know. All the best, Jill, and thank you once again!
Fantastic to see Jill’s beautiful garden. I adore dahlia’s, so it was wonderful to see them interwoven amongst such a lovely backdrop. Often overlooked, the foliage colours and form in Jill’s garden were a joy. Thanks for sharing.
Sam, your observations and thoughts regarding Jill’s garden have been presented as only a master gardener could possibly present them. Thank you so much for this lovely, insightful comment. Jill is an amazing gardener, and it’s entirely my honor and great pleasure to feature this tour of her gorgeous garden here. I’m so happy to see this site developing into a true meeting place for those with keen gardening acumen, an appreciation for the arboreal, and a passion for all things vital, verdant, and blossoming. And of course, I’m looking forward to hosting a tour series of your own glorious garden, Sam – these will also be beyond amazing! Thanks once again, Sam!
I very much appreciate your kind and encouraging words, Sam, thank you! And I’m looking forward to seeing and learning all about your garden. Thanks again!
Jill, thank you for sharing your wonderful garden with all of us. Everything was beautiful. Your dahlias were absolutely gorgeous. They remind me of the dahlias that my father planted so many years ago. Thanks for the tour and the wonderful memories.
Jill’s garden is a wonderland, isn’t it, Kevin? And she’s such a gracious lady. The nostalgia, heritage, and nobility of not only her stunning dahlias, but all of her lovely plants and flowers is certainly not lost on Jill. Her passion – and her respect – for the plants she tends is palpable. Thank you so much, Kevin, for your lovely thoughts and kind words. I’m so glad you enjoyed Jill’s tour.
Thank you so much Kevin for your very kind and generous words of support. Our gardens have a wonderful way of keeping our loved ones close, don’t they? Thank you again!