Rachel Lambert Mellon

“You know I'm weak on good looks.”

“Wild flowers grow where they will.”

“I was sitting alone in a grim mood - furious that the press attacked Senator Edwards on the price of a haircut. But it inspired me - from now on, all haircuts, etc., that are necessary and important for his campaign - please send the bills to me... It is a way to help our friend without government restrictions.”

“Part of creating is understanding that there is always more to do; nothing is ever completely finished.”

“I don't know what I've done that has made people so interested in me, more than anyone else.”

“The sky is a free asset in design, and nothing unnecessary should be planted that takes away the sky.”

“Nothing should be noticed.”

“One of the first gardens I did outside the family was for the designer Hattie Carnegie. I was 23 then, and I went to her salon, but could not afford any of her dresses myself, though I loved them. Miss Carnegie suggested I do a garden in exchange for a coat and dress, and so I designed and planted a garden for her.”

“As a child, I had lived many years in Southampton and sang in the choir of the Dune Church.”

“I always design a landscape with fixed horizons whether it be mountains or a stone wall around a 20-foot-square plot.”

“I'm nearly blind. I can hardly see. But I'm taking some herbs. Something quacky.”