In my garden beds, I generally consider Virginia creeper—Parthenocissus quinquefolia—to be a nuisance. The seeds, “planted” by passing birds that eat and excrete the fall berries, germinate readily in inaccessible places like the base of the privet hedge that bounds three sides of the front yard. Disguised by the privet leaves, the fast-sprouting creeper vines … Read more
In my part of the world it has been raining ceaselessly—or so it seems—for days on end. The diminishing minutes of daylight are further diminished by the perpetual cloud cover. The garden is not just soggy, it is drowning. If this weather keeps up, some of us will be starting our annual bout of seasonal … Read more
I was in the garden center last week, hot on the trail of colorful mums and half-price perennials when I laid eyes on something that made me forget both objects. It was a young, slender tree with some of the showiest fall foliage I have encountered—red, orange and purple, glowing in the late afternoon … Read more
For years I have planted certain fall bloomers in my front garden in the hopes of creating a lush golden and russet display of rudbeckia, helenium, and late summer sunflowers. The current show is respectable, but would never make the pages of a glossy garden publication. I should probably just abandon the effort and cede … Read more
I don’t know why my friends say that I hate change. In a single decade I went from disdaining dahlias to wanting a border full of colorful specimens. I grew dahlias this year with that aim in mind. I was egged on by gorgeous garden magazines spreads featuring gardeners who are able to grow armloads … Read more
