Impatiens Plague

The print and online worlds are awash in a sea of discussion about impatiens.  For those of you who have been out in the garden or otherwise not paying attention, Impatiens walleriana, the bright, shade-loving bedding annuals, are suffering from an epidemic of downy mildew.  This blight, which shows up as a gray coating on … Read more

Tradescantia Surge

Every once in awhile, a specific plant will have an absolutely wonderful year.  This usually happens the year after you give it up for dead but are too lazy or preoccupied to dig it up and hurl it onto the compost pile.  My tradescantia were not in any danger of that fate, but up until … Read more

Garden Facelifts

Yesterday I should have edged the beds that surround the front garden and plied the hedge trimmer on the perpetually sprouting privet that bounds the property.  Instead I remade a corner of the garden that has never quite succeeded aesthetically and always bothered me. The corner in question is mostly shaded by a nearby maple … Read more