This year, Presidents’ Day marked the first foray into the winter-struck garden. The temperature was finally above 45 degrees, the endless rain had stopped, and it was a Federal holiday. That trifecta of events was the winning combination that sent me out of doors first thing in the morning. I reconnoitered, pulled out the garden … Read more
I am a student of gardening history, especially in the winter, when actual gardening activities are necessarily limited. Sometimes in my reading, catalog perusal and other armchair activities, certain tantalizing figures pop up repeatedly. This happened recently with Lady Beatrix Stanley, whom I found waltzing across the pages of a snowdrop catalog, dancing through listings … Read more
I have always envied gardeners who boast that they have something in bloom outdoors 365 days a year. In a cold winter climate that is just about impossible, unless you count the final fall flower remnants that somehow cling to blackened stems into January. I call that cheating and I won’t do it. At least … Read more
At this time of year, all it takes is a few balmy days to trigger the gardening itch. As soon as the temperature hovers above 50 degrees and the wind abandons howling in favor of murmuring, I have one foot out the door. I am fooling myself, of course. February thaws are among of Nature’s … Read more
Yesterday I was absolutely beside myself because I saw the first snowdrops of the season. These brave early-appearers are double-flowered, with pale green tips on the outer petals and pronounced green blotches on the inner ones. I have forgotten their varietal name and the plant tag is currently submerged under a cover of dead leaves, … Read more
