On the garden magic scale, butterflies rank pretty high, but I think hummingbirds stand even higher. On a normal spring or summer day—provided that your chosen habitat is not a glass office tower—you will probably catch a glimpse of a butterfly, even if it is only a common cabbage white. The arrival of a hummingbird, … Read more
Over the centuries, humans have had a complex relationship with members of the tobacco—Nicotiana—family. We have praised them, vilified them, smoked some species, distilled others into insecticides and burned still others in various rituals. One thing is clear. When it comes to ornamental or flowering tobacco, there is much to praise and almost nothing to … Read more
Last week I saw a one-gallon container of old-fashioned double columbines at my neighborhood big box store. This is a sure sign that columbine—aquilegia to horticulturists—has arrived in a big way. The plants, generally short-lived perennials, have been spring harbingers in the Old and New Worlds for centuries. Now they are suddenly as à la … Read more
