The Gardeners' Apprentice GROUND COVER ROSES It seems a bit strange to be thinking about roses when the precipitation is coming down in pellets outside, but I can’t help it. I just attached a bouquet of dried rosebuds to a Christmas wreath and the sight of them triggered thoughts of spring. As the growing season dwindled … Read more
TOPIARIES Not far from where I live, a modest house sits among a row of similar dwellings facing an extremely busy street. The house is distinguished by a pair of potted, spiral-shaped evergreen topiaries that flank the front door, setting off the “Beware of Dog” sign. Those topiaries are only the most recent … Read more
ANNOYING PLANTS Some plants are just annoying. I am not referring to dangerous plants like poison ivy, castor bean, monkshood or any of the scores of other garden nasties. I am talking about plants that annoy you because they have come up in the wrong places or aren’t what you thought they would be. … Read more
JASMINE The other night I was watching director Richard Lester’s 1973 version of The Three Musketeers. It is one of my favorite films and every time I watch it I am struck by the way Lester captured the feel of mid-seventeenth century France–complete with lechery, debauchery and dirt, not to mention livestock in the … Read more
YELLOW CLIVIA The small plant nursery on top of my microwave oven has a new resident. The yellow clivia that I have coveted for years finally arrived last week. As befits its horticultural importance and stature as an object of desire, I have potted it up in a four-inch terra cotta pot made by … Read more
