The great day of autumn reckoning in my garden is almost at hand. The New England asters, which have provided a magnificent, impressionistic spectacle in the front beds, are holding tenaciously to their last blooms. Over the coming weekend I will cut back all the tall stalks, leaving only the ‘Monch’ asters to continue billowing … Read more
Chrysanthemums are not fragrant—at least not to my nose. In fact, an extract of chrysanthemum flowers, pyrethrin, is used as an insecticide, and insecticides almost never have a pleasant odor. I generally prefer sweet smelling flowers, but I love chrysanthemums—a love that comes naturally. My mother was wild about them, especially the giant “football” mums … Read more
I used to mope over the advance of fall, lamenting the loss of my beloved garden flowers, morosely plucking the last roses, and generally carrying on as if horticultural Armageddon was just around the corner. I felt as if the Grim Reaper had stepped away from the neighbors’ lavish Halloween display to walk hand in … Read more
Not long ago I went to Grace Gardens, in Geneva, NY, a magical daylily garden and nursery. It was early July, just before peak daylily bloom, but thousands of blossoms were already open for business. The array of colors and forms was breathtaking. I found it impossible to leave without a handful of new daylily … Read more
I have always loved the October light, which is so distinctive that novelist John Gardner, who had poetry in his soul, used it in a book title. On any sunny October Saturday, the light is mellow and golden, illuminating the plants in ways that are absent in summer. While it gilds the landscape, the light … Read more
