In the Weeds
Bill Trautman, assistant manager at Smith & Hawken in Hingham, gets his growing inspiration from a Gardner.
What's the biggest issue your customers seek your help with?
How to use their space most effectively. What's the best option for a yard or patio or small garden. I ask them to bring in photos or take measurements, so I can help with a layout that works.
Where do you go to seek out an enchanted garden?
The Isabella Stewart Gardner museum. It's tranquil and peaceful to sit there and contemplate.
Contemplate what?
Ha! What I could do with that space.
What's the best new thing you've got in the store for this season?
The modular trellis. It gives the customer a lot of options - from an archway to a pavilion - so they get a custom fit without paying a custom price. It's great for city patios, too, because it can be as small or as large as you want it to be.
What would you plant to climb the trellis?
Wisteria. It's hardy enough for the New England climate.
What's the best thing about your own garden?
It's right off a patio, so I can sit out there with a cup of coffee or a cocktail, depending on the time of day, and enjoy the work I put into it. In late July, the heat and humidity brings out the intoxicating fragrance of my Casablanca lilies.
And the worst thing?
The weeds.
Don't you have anything for those around here?
Smith & Hawken's hand cultivator helps. It looks like a claw and does the job easily.
SMITH & HAWKEN Derby Street Shoppes, Hingham, 781-740-0890, smithandhawken.com
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