Wild Columbine

Last year at about this time, my daughter and I sought out some COVID lockdown relief in a park that boasts the highest elevation in our state.  As we indulged in that relief, we spotted a number of interesting wild plants, including the star of the wildflower show, pink lady’s slipper orchid or Cypripedium acaule. … Read more

Oregano Beauty

I love oregano—on pizza, in cooked dishes, in salads and in my garden.  In the past I have grown pots of common oregano or Origanum vulgare ssp, hirtum to provide myself with ample quantities to dry for winter cooking.  This year I will do that once again.  The flavor of home grown dried oregano is … Read more

Saffron Crocus

My front strip—that hard-to-cultivate patch between street and sidewalk—never supported much grass.  I gave up on it years ago and substituted plants tough enough to take the sometimes fatal combination of abysmal soil and perpetual exposure.  Hostas hold forth under the maple tree, with heuchera, hellebores and other shade lovers also succeeding within its shadow.  … Read more

Buck Garden

Most people think small when they think of rock gardens—miniature plants in confined spaces.  Leonard J. Buck (1894-1974) was not one of those people.  Buck, who made a fortune importing and exporting metal ores, created a thirty-three acre rock garden at his estate in Far Hills, New Jersey.  Buck has been gone for forty years, … Read more