Busman’s Holiday

What do gardeners do on vacation? Visit gardens, of course, or, if we have places to do so, garden in our vacation spaces. Ever the horticultural glutton, I do both. My sister and I own a summer cottage on nine acres of land in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. My maternal grandfather … Read more

The Impossible Blue of Chicory

Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is one of the best blue-flowered plants around and at this time of the year it is ubiquitous–by roadsides, nudging hedgerows and even making appearances in vacant city lots.   The woody stems,  rather nondescript leaves and modest buds are nothing to write home about.  The flowers, though, distill the color of the … Read more