Q&A With Carolyne Roehm

As I’ve mentioned, designer, author and gardener Carolyne Roehm will be at Ladew Gardens this weekend for the Garden Festival to talk about her passions for gardening, antiques and more.  While the 11:00 a.m. lecture is sold out, there are still tickets available for the 2:00 p.m. lecture. In anticipation of her arrival in Maryland, she was kind enough to answer some questions for me.

Pigtown*Design: I love how most of your books have the word passion in the title. Blue and white, presentations, classic homes, parties… are these passions that have been with you for a long time? And do you still find new passions?

Carolyne Roehm: Ah, that is a big question --- the answer is yes I have new passions , and not all things are my passion,s but publishers get on to something that works and they do not like to give it up. So I actually do not have a passion for parties but love the deign process in preparing for them. My three great passions are dogs and flowers and learning.

PD: How is your garden this spring? Have you found that the warm spring has helped it? Or have you lost plants because it’s warmer than usual?

CR: It is strange because everything is out of sync --- basically everything has bloomed a month early. We are so far ahead …by a month in our garden preparation, but this weather is so volatile it makes one a bit nervous. Work-wise in the garden it has been great to get a jump start in the garden but heaven knows how this season will play out.

PD: Have you found any new and unusual plants for your garden this year?

CR: I have not done a lot of shopping as yet, but last week I found a fabulous columbine.  It is new to me, but beautiful and I will be planting it this next week ----- I hope!

PD: I know you’re a great traveler. Which garden (aside from Ladew!) is your favourite? Is it English, Dutch, Asian?

CR: I have so many gardens that I love and lust after. But one of the great gardening moments is when I went to the Priory d'Orsan for the first time. What a dream one feels one has entered. The other garden,though totally different, is the garden at Vaux le Vicomte. What a great understanding of perspective Lenotres had.

Last spring I visited Het Loo which is fantastic. I, of course, love the great French rose gardens, Bagatelle and L'Haÿ-les-Roses . Ninfa out side of Rome is romantic and beautiful as well.

PD: Your newsletter was one of my favourite reads. Are you planning on reviving it? It is such an amazing resource for so many things. I always felt elevated when I read it.

CR: I have prepared a blog/information site which I have been editing and hope to have it up around the end of May to reconnect with people and to replace the newsletter. It will be an unconventional blog, I guess--- just with thoughts, ideas and information from my travels.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed my Q+A with Carolyne Roehm. I have been a big fan of hers for ages, and am so pleased to finally have the opportunity to meet her at Ladew Gardens this coming weekend. For tickets or information on the Garden Festival at Ladew Gardens, please click here.