Rain Lilies

There are days when I want to live in the moment, celebrate the quotidian experience and relish immediate delights—like the many stands of snowdrops currently on display in various parts of my garden.  Other days, I am drawn to the past; especially when I think about people and places that exist only in memory.  Being … Read more

Blue Stars

When I look out at the sea of asters in my front yard, it is hard to believe that there was a time when I had none.  In search of some fall color, I planted one small pot of tall, pink-flowered ‘Alma Potschke’ asters. ‘Alma’ prospered—so much so that now, if I didn’t pull out … Read more

Summer’s End

My garden is a riot of activity at the moment, with honeybees, bumblebees, skippers and pollinators of all kinds swarming over the exuberant asters and rampant perilla mint.  All that frantic action almost obscures what is missing—the big butterflies, like monarchs and swallowtails, which floated through the garden every day in the summer.  They are … Read more

Blue Boneset

Late fall is dominated by orange, red, russet and gold, as brilliant leaves, goldenrod and millions of cushion mums crash together in a colorful, season-ending plant eruption.  But the prelude to all that brilliance rolls through in early fall, in the form of blue, pink, purple and white asters, boltonia and fall-blooming crocuses.  A less … Read more

Wild Asters

I love the big, bumptious, fast-spreading asters in my garden.  There is ‘Alma Potschke’, often written about and even more often spotted in every single one of my garden beds.   I know she is officially an “it”, but calling her “she” seems more logical.  ‘Alma’ self-seeds as if she thinks extinction is just around the … Read more