Elsa Bakalar, Gardener and Friend

Last October I joined with friends, and family including Jake and Susan Bakalar, Elsa's nephew and his wife, and 'honorary daughter' Marie Hershkowitz who had been a student of Elsa's, to celebrate Elsa's 91st birthday. It was a jolly affair with a buffet brought by Jake and Susan, cards, stories,  and tributes. And laughter. And champagne. Two weeks ago my husband and I visited Elsa at the nursing home and again had a jolly time. The menu was…

Garden Bloggers Book Club

  • Post published:01/31/2008
  • Post comments:9 Comments

My Friend Elsa Though I haven’t read Dear Friend and Gardener I have my own great garden friend. When I moved to my Massachusetts hilltop, I found that one of our area’s most famous perennial gardeners, Elsa Bakalar, lived on a neighboring hilltop. She was a generation older, British, much more knowledgeable about flower gardens, and way more opinionated than I was about anything but happy to befriend a novice. She is a born teacher, and even now…