Fallen morning -
the sun bleeds across the blistered ground
wraps the strip in its shimmering shawl
as if it might burn the whole idea away
like it never was.

Snowcapped, the mountains loom indifferent
but you know they can take it back –
take everything back
with a snowless drought that would crack
the ground like glass.

Blue buildings like stones in translucent rivers -
red roads reflecting in the polished granite
like an idea, like a dream somehow gone bad
in the smoke, lingering like a white fog
over the false hope burning.

It rains and the ground shines -
the cooled air returns as breath against the glass
when the night screams back
and all you can hear is the noise
until the mountains whisper in spectral light.

Another morning falls – the sky silvered
and the ground embraced by the
shadows of the great Sierras and the blue glass
and the red roads pale as the desert sun
leans across the ground until it weeps with light.

For better or worse it isn’t always a flat plane of yard we get to garden or

Inside Out: The Art and Craft of Home Landscaping

landscape. On the “worse” side of things, sloping land can create challenges in controlling erosion and achieving some use (either visual or practical) of the area of the yard. On the “better” side of things some of the world’s greatest gardens (beginning with the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon which, although their very existence is debated, may have been located in the 15th century in what is now Baghdad) and landscapes occur on the sides of hills or nestled into carved terraces. Although wrought with inherent challenges as well as some hidden expenses, the reward of taking back and cultivating sloping property can be well worth the effort. (more…)

This site is devoted to the landscape and gardening articles, poetry and musings of award-winning landscape designer and critically acclaimed author Jeff Hutton.

As an author, Jeff has penned two recently published books, Perfect Silence, a novel and Inside Out: The Art & Craft of Landscape Design.

Gardener’s Muse: reflections on landscapes and life and Third Dog: a serial muse inspired by his golden retriever, will be updated periodically. Please take a few moments to browse through the site and read some of Jeff’s thoughtful and informative writing. For more information about Jeff Hutton and his work please see his biography.

There is a certain underlying melancholy to September. At least in the northeast. Perhaps this is attached to the end of summer and the slowly shrinking daylight. Or the return to school … a renewed need to focus somehow attached to the inevitable approach of winter. It’s easier to put things off in the summer months. The days stretch out across the long arc of the sun and tomorrow seems like it’ll ample hours to catch up. I guess that’s why they’ve been called the lazy days. It’s not until September that we realize we enjoyed those long days a little too much and have some catching up to do. (more…)