Andromeda

Real spring is days away, no matter what is happening with the weather. In the meantime, most of us celebrate the signs of the new season that are popping up everywhere. As the giant Dutch crocuses open their trumpets to blast the spring news, I pour used cat litter down the groundhog hole to let … Read more

Bewitched in Spring

As winter days tick down and spring looms ahead, the sap starts to rise in gardeners and trees.  A brief snowdrop sighting, a few brave early crocuses, or even a stalk of rhubarb in the market make hearts beat faster. Witch hazel works the same magic. Our great-grandparents used a bottled witch hazel decoction as an … Read more

Sweet Scents of Early Spring

In early spring every sprout that pushes up from the ground is a cause for celebration—unless, of course, the sprout is onion grass.  While I struggle to accept the things I cannot change—onion grass is one of them—I celebrate the plants that emerge bravely and mark the season with beauty and fragrance.  One of the … Read more

Lilac Story

The blooming lilacs in my garden are a joyful celebration of spring, but also remind me of “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,” Walt Whitman’s beautiful 1865  elegy to Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated on April 14 of that year.  The first stanza says it all: When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d, And … Read more

Spring Witches

As winter days tick down and spring looms ahead, it takes very little to get gardeners excited.  A brief snowdrop sighting, a few brave early crocuses, or even a stalk of rhubarb in the market make hearts beat faster.  So does witch hazel. Up until a couple of generations ago, witch hazel was a widely … Read more