“Courtyards and boxwood and stonewalls and nepeta,
Agave and old barns and salvage antiqua
Formal and classic and playing with greens
These are a few of her favorite things.”
Mary Jasch
When I first read this poem I thought to myself…
These are a few of my favorite things & the poet must be a gardener as the two always seem to go hand in hand.
My intuition served me correctly…
Penned by freelance writer and photographer Mary Jasch, she is also the editor & publisher of DIG IT! magazine.
Let me tell you that DIG IT! is more than just a garden full of pretty flowers.
DIG IT! is a digital publication where avid gardeners delight in sharing their roots & gaining knowledge. The contributing writers are horticulturists, conservationists, landscapers, artists, master & everyday gardeners! It’s dog-eared with wonderful links – Also a newsletter & calendar of events for all of you gardening along the east coast.
Informative & resourceful yes! Another appealing aspect is that it reads like a gardener’s journal as the magazine is enriched by and dedicated to the loving memories of Mary Jasch’s mother & grandmother.
At DIG IT! Mary also invites readers to put on their muck boots & join her at her blog where she tends to her own personal landscape.
Whether it’s the gruesome task of pruning & plowing past a six-foot Rose of Sharon entwined in chain link or the sleepy-eyed luxury of picking early morning breakfast berries from her own backyard, she reflects in a melodious tone even while yanking a dead plant out of the soil!
The Grounds, a regular feature at DIG IT! is where I discovered that this writer, photographer, editor, publisher & gardener is also a poet! In an article titled Her Favorite Things - Mary opens with her poem about designer & gardener Andrea Filippone is seen here at the entrance to her Orangerie.
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The beautiful photographs you see throughout this story and the “Courtyards and boxwood” that she speaks of are in reference to the 19th-century homestead of Andrea Filippone & husband William Welch. The “old barns and salvage antiqua” refer to their all-encompassing architecture, interior, and landscape design firm.
Andrea Filippone & William Welch photographed by William Waldron for Elle Décor
Andrea Filippone & William Welch photographed by William Waldron for Elle Décor
All beautifully settled together amongst the gentle hills of New Jersey horse country.
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At the end of her poem,
Mary Jasch begins her narrative & leads readers on a prolific tour of the windswept estate.
“Walk through the archway of the barns, anchored with iron horse legs, and enter another world – beyond the threshold of Americana out front. A courtyard comes into view. Suddenly the barns morph into house with long stone steps across the front with rows of heuchera, boxwood and ivy rising, flanked with agave, elephant ears and hydrangea. This is a landscape to learn from.” Mary Jasch
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While writing this story a theme kept running through my mind.
The woman who works with her hands is a laborer. The woman who works with her head is a craftswoman. The woman who works with her hands, her head, and her heart is an artist.
Mary Jasch & Andrea Filippone are both hard-working & incredibly talented women, but it’s the way in which they weave their artistry not only into their own lives but the lives of others as well that inspires me to no end.
Thank you, ladies.
The May 2012 issue of Elle Décor featured a marvelous layout, photographed by William Waldron, on the bucolic country life of Andrea Filippone & William Welch.
