Good gardens demand a lot of research and patience. Along the way there will be amendments, detours and, sometimes, reversals. There's no such thing as a beautiful 'instant' garden.

Madison and I traveled together looking at gardens in Provence and Normandy ... We were on the same page almost always. Madison is a plants- man as well as a designer-something rather rare. We spent hours going over plant catalogs.

Madison has exquisite taste ... But it's not just his sense of aesthetics that I appreciate. He knows about botany. He knows about the life of plants. He does research. He's practical and open to ideas. I have never once seen him flustered or panicked. Beyond this, he's a delightful person to be with. He has a good sense of humor.