The Gardeners' Apprentice The violets in my garden, mostly purple, white, and freckled varieties of Viola sororia, are long gone, with only their heart-shaped leaves to remind me that they will be among the first out of the ground next spring. Somehow though, violets keep cropping up in my orbit. Last summer, I read the wonderful Violetta, by … Read more
Walking or driving down the street in fall can be perilous. In my part of the world, the drivers are bad enough at all times, but from September through Thanksgiving, both drivers and pedestrians also have to contend with the falling acorns, beechnuts and other tree-born fruiting bodies falling from the sky. An acorn hitting … Read more
In my garden beds, I generally consider Virginia creeper—Parthenocissus quinquefolia—to be a nuisance. The seeds, “planted” by passing birds that eat and excrete the fall berries, germinate readily in inaccessible places like the base of the privet hedge that bounds three sides of the front yard. Disguised by the privet leaves, the fast-sprouting creeper vines … Read more
When fall truly descends on the garden, with autumn leaves making piles in the corners and the last of the flowers breathing their final gasps, I miss the color and the life that marks spring and summer. I especially miss fragrance. While all the seasonal change is going on, I rush out to cut the … Read more
The great day of autumn reckoning in my garden is almost at hand. The New England asters, which have provided a magnificent, impressionistic spectacle in the front beds, are holding tenaciously to their last blooms. Over the coming weekend I will cut back all the tall stalks, leaving only the ‘Monch’ asters to continue billowing … Read more
