You’ll find my garden, Hackberry Point, near Chestertown, Maryland, which is located roughly due east of Baltimore as the crow (or gull) flies over the Chesapeake Bay. Any time of year, a quick look around confirms a serious gardening fanatic and plant collector lives here. In addition to beds in both sun and shade filled with perennials, shrubs, herbs, and other plants, loads of houseplants, outdoor containers, and garden ornaments fill every nook and cranny.
I primarily garden on about 2 acres, plus we also have a 7-acre woods. Since the previous owners spent 30 years maintaining the property with lawn mowers and string trimmers, getting rid of lawn grass, dealing with invasives, and improving mediocre soil are themes I deal with daily. Winds off the Bay and our location in Zone 7 add the gardening challenges of wind and heat to the mix.
I’m interested in all things green, from perennials and herbs to collections of variegated succulents. In addition to gardening, I’m also interested in birds and wildlife, so my garden features plenty of native plants, flowers for butterflies and hummingbirds, plus a wildflower meadow. Beds and borders in the garden combine native and non-native perennials, shrubs, herbs, annuals, and more.
Houseplants, acquired in First Grade, were the first plants I owned and tended, but for as long as I can remember, I also helped my mother with her garden in Columbus, Ohio. Her garden also served as my introduction to tough gardening conditions, since it was in partial shade to shade and boasted alkaline clay soil.
I have been lucky enough to spend my career writing about gardening, first as Publications Director at the American Horticultural Society (AHS), and editor of American Horticulturist, now The American Gardener. After that, I worked as Managing Editor of Garden Books at Rodale Press. Finally, I have been a freelance writer and editor for over 12 years now. (Just to be official, also I have a degree in Horticulture from The Ohio State University and a B.A. from Kenyon College with a major in Fine Art.)
While writing about gardening helps pay the bills, keeping my hands in the dirt is what really matters to me. Nothing gives me as much satisfaction and joy as planting new treasures, creating new gardens, and fussing with plants. (Gardening is a verb to me. I love the process, not just the end result!) My first garden was in Alexandria, Virginia, where I grew mixed plantings around a 1930-era duplex. Next, my husband, Peter, and I moved to Berks County, Pennsylvania, to live in a 240-year-old stone farmhouse that I surrounded with a large perennial garden. We finally settled here on the Eastern Shore in 2004, where I once again began to root out lawn, make garden beds, and fill them with plants.
My current garden at Hackberry Point contains plants that moved with us from Pennsylvania, plus loads of newer acquisitions. The garden here wasn’t really started until 2007, because the house had to undergo a much-needed renovation. (It’s now “green” and features recycled materials, passive solar, etc.) Most of the plants that have been languishing in holding beds are now in permanent spots, and I am steadily expanding the number of planting beds. I’m also trying to reduce runoff, replace lawn grass with ground covers, and add more native perennials and shrubs to make the garden more Chesapeake Bay friendly.
I’m an equal-opportunity plant nut, so I’m constantly experimenting with both native and non-native species, trying out new plant combinations, and simply stuffing as many plants into the garden as I can find room for. A cottagy garden is the end result of all this experimentation. I use up nearly all of my detail orientation editing and writing books, so instead of using paper and pencil to plan out gardening beds, I “plan” primarily by wandering around with a plant in one hand and a trowel in the other. I do think hard about giving each new plant the right growing conditions and suitable neighbors, so the process isn’t as chaotic as it might sound, but more on that in my blog posts. Because I am always trying to find space for just one more plant, my beds change all the time as plants come in and out of bloom. The resulting sequences of bloom are especially fascinating, and I hope to show many of them in future blog posts.
Eastern Shore Gardener 
Hi Barbara, look forward to watching your blog and your garden grow. I am a Missouri master gardener, also now living on the eastern shore, in Talbot county. I also blog about life on the eastern shore – http://www.chesapeakejournal.com – Kathy B
Kathy
Greetings! It’s nice to find another Eastern Shore resident who is blogging about life here next to the Chesapeake! Barbara
Hi!
So glad to have found your blog. I recently moved to the shore to a 2 acre property. No landscaping to work with; just grass and weeds on the lot. It’s quite daunting but your blog inspires me. Thank you.
Hi
I enjoy your website. I am wondering if you could recommend a gardening book written specifically on the eastern shore? I am looking for a gift for my father-in-law who summers on the eastern shore. He recently visited us on Martha’s Vineyard where he fell in love with the plants and I am hoping to get him a book more specific to his area for christmas.
thanks so much!
Hi Suzanne! First off, let me say I’ve got the perfect book for your father-in-law, but it’s still in the proposal stage. I need to hear back from the publisher before I get started. I’ll post on this blog when I get started!
In the meantime, there are a couple books you can consider, although none provide very much information on Bay-friendly practices or using native plants. You can look for Mid-Atlantic Gardener’s Guide: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C by André and Mark Viette. 2003. Washington Post Garden Book, The,:The Ultimate Guide to Gardening in Greater Washington and the Mid-Atlantic Region. by Adrian Higgins, 1998., is another one.
For native plants I’d also suggest Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping: Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Slattery, Britt/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2003. It’s a booklet, but really a good reference.
Good luck with your shopping! Barbara
Hi Barbara
Ive enjoyed your blog and website during these cold months.
Im a master gardener in QAC, lving and gardening in Queenstown.
My blog is http://bunnyrungarden.blogspot.com
Stephanie
Welcome! I’m glad to know you have enjoyed reading Eastern Shore Gardener this winter! I took a peek at your site and really enjoyed the pictures of Winterthur! Keep coming back!
Barbara
Hello, Barbara. I just stumbled on your blog as I was doing research for a garden I am designing…it was the new Oakleaf Hydrangeas that introduced me to your site. I will look forward to following your blog.
I would be happy to have you visit the studio sometime if you are in the St M’s area. Check out my websites…
Jan Kirsh
http://www.jankirsh.com
http://www.jankirshstudio.com
Jan: Welcome! I’ll let you know when I’m down in St. Michaels!
Barbara
Ms. Ellis,
My wife and I recently moved to the shore in search of a better school system for our daughter, leaving a waterfront in Baltimore that was stacked with plants. I have brought some of these with us, and have started over again, as i see you have done a time or two yourself. I finally had sometime this morning to search the internet due to the rain, which at times gives me a break from running a large nursery in Sudlersville, Md. Your site was a great surprise. I look forward to the information from your site to get acquainted with local events. I was an avid , guest, benefactor, and travelor with The Md hort society out of Baltimore. Plus I had the pleasure to work with many of the Board Members over the years. Talk to you soon
TC Lhotsky
Welcome to the Eastern Shore! I’m glad you found my site and had a good time looking it over. I started the site because I had trouble keeping track of events, and have had a great time finding new ones to include there. Keep me posted on events that I have missed! Perhaps we will cross paths at some event or another!
Barbara
Barbara,
I still have plants you gave me from your Alexandria and Pennsylvania gardens. It makes me smile when I look at them and think of you — what a wonderful tradition that I have carried on with other neighbors and friends. It’s your fault I have so many lovely varigated hostas and have been supplying the entire neighborhood with varigated Solomon’s Seal for years! Thinking of you as I watch things emerge from the ground — always a bit of a surprise since I don’t have a garden plan or map…..
joel
Joel
Just realized I hadn’t responded to this! I absolutely love sharing plants, as you know. They are also one of the all-time best housewarming gifts, especially if you arrive, as we do, with a car load of divisions and then spend the day planting with friends. BTW, I was at a garden this morning where the owner has planted that very same variegated Solomon’s seal in full sun. She had it combined with rug junipers, which was lovely. I am always learning something!
Barbara
Hello Barbara and readers:
Just moved here from CT to work on a large estate in Cambridge…any suggestions on wholesale nurseries for trees, shrubs, etc? An information is appreciated!!
Lisa
Lisa
Welcome to the Eastern Shore! I have a file of catalogs of wholesalers around here, but don’t have direct experience buying from any of them except Environmental Concern, 201 Boundary Lane, St. Michaels, Maryland. They have a good list of natives. Send me an e-mail at hackberrypoint@gmail.com, and I can pull out my catalogs and come up with a few more ideas.
Barbara
Hi Barbara
With great excitement I found your blog/website this morning while surfing the web. I am anxiously awaiting the scheduled events for 2013… I have yet to choose but native plants are high on the list. I am a native buckeye… Mom and dad still live in N Canton! My husband and I are from Pa where we have left our lush mature small garden and relocated to our home on the lower eastern shore. I am the avid amateur gardener in the family and have brought along my willing husband who likes to “manicure” the yard! I am delighted to find this site and perhaps join some of the events. Thanks for being here.
Kathleen
Crisfield Md
Kathleen
Hi! It’s nice to welcome someone who is both a Buckeye and former resident of Pennsylvania–both states that taught me a lot about gardening. It’s also interesting that your husband is a manicurer. Mine is, too, but he has gradually relaxed his standards and embraced my wildflower meadow and other native features.
As you know, I have started adding events for 2013, and will be putting up some more soon. I hope you can let me know about events down toward Chrisfield so I can publicize them here, too.
If you read any of my earlier posts, you may have seen that I am not posting quite as much as I was. I’m hard at work on a book for gardening in our area. It is Chesapeake Gardening & Landscaping, and is scheduled for publication in 2014. My manuscript is due this March, so I’m spending lots of time sitting at my computer pounding away at it.
Anyway, back to my book. Welcome to Eastern Shore Gardener!
Thanks for the welcome and yes, I too am anxiously awaiting the publication of your book! UMES which is located near by in Princess Anne has a horticulture program. I will keep you posted on any events. All the best in your writings.
Kathleen
I have been reading your book, Veggie Gardeners Answer Book on the beach at Bethany and I loved it! Been a backyard gardener for ever and learned do many good nuggets of insight!
Barry
Wow, you are a dedicated gardener if you are reading about it while enjoying Bethany beach! I have to say that writing Veggie Gardeners Answer Book was great fun, because I so enjoyed answering everyone’s questions and ferreting out all the tips I included. Glad you are enjoying it!
Happy Gardening! Barbara
I am a seventh grader working on a school research project and enjoyed your book, Covering Ground. It was my best source for my project.
I chose this topic as I have found it interesting in the past, and to gain more information, I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me.
I wanted to ask what interested you in in lawns without grass. How much work (more or less) would you say maintaining a grass-free lawn takes?
Also, what benefits have you seen (if any) that grass holds over other yard alternatives?
Have you been able to convert anyone to reducing the grass lawn in their yard? How did you convince them (if you have been able to)?
How many other people do you know that do not support grass lawns? How does that contrast to the number of people that do not support grass alternatives that you know? How do you meet people who do not support grass lawns?
Is it hard for some neighborhoods to accept people not having the typical grass yard? Is your neighborhood like this? Do you know anyone with problems like this?
Sorry for asking so many questions. Even if you answered just a few, it would be extremely helpful to me.
Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this.
Joanna
Joanna
Thanks for all of your interest and your focus on lawns without grass. Since you had so many questions, I thought I would send you an e-mail directly. Post back here if you don’t receive it, okay?
Barbara
Barbara, the Federated Garden Clubs of MD, Inc., District I Flower Show will be June 4, 2015, at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center in Salisbury. I was hoping that you would visit the show. The times are 1:30 – 5:30, and the public is invited. Better yet, the admission is free. There will be 60 traditional and creative designs! also, we are expecting to have 500 cut and container horticulture specimens! This should be a garden lovers paradise!
I live in St. Michaels and I am a “newbie” gardener. I am very interested in the Oak Leaf Hydrangea Munchkin and Ruby Slippers varieties, but have no idea who might stock them, as I am relatively new to the area. Perhaps you could share that information? Thanks so much.
Karen
Hi! I got both of my plants from Rare Find nursery in New Jersey. They sell via mail order, but I like going to the nursery to look at everything they offer. Both ‘Munchkin’ and ‘Ruby Slippers’ should be more widely available by now. I would ask at local higher-end garden centers and nurseries.
Barbara
[…] Tuesday, June 6th, 7pm: Speaker Barbara Ellis on Six Principles for Moving Your Garden toward Sustainability. Barbara is the former publications director at the American Horticultural Society and author of “Chesapeake Gardening &Landscaping: the Essential Green Guide.” Read more here. […]
I live between Chestertown and Crumpton and we are trying to reclaim our property from a stand of bamboo. We’ve cut it all down now and need something to stabilize the soil so we don’t lose any more of our hill to the river. I’ve read that sedge grass is helpful in this regard and was wondering if you knew which species are native to this area. If you have other suggestions, please share!!
Theresa
Somehow, I didn’t see your comment when it was posted. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Cutting down the bamboo won’t actually get rid of it, and I don’t have experience with methods that might–especially since you are close to the river. Perhaps the local extension service has recommendations of products or companies that might spray to eliminate it. My thought is that sedges won’t be able to compete with bamboo roots, and I would expect that they would be really difficult to plant around the roots.
Hi Barbara,
I recently moved to a 2 acre property in Deale, MD. A friend bought me your book and I absolutely love it. The property is almost entirely grass with a fence border and a number of poorly placed small trees. I am basically starting with a blank canvas which is exciting but also nerve-wrecking and challenging to visualize. Do you do consulting work or allow people to tour your gardens? Many thanks!!
Stuyve