The Gardeners' Apprentice MILITARY AIRS July is full of long sticky days, summer vacations and enticing specials on fall-planted bulbs like tulips and daffodils. I was hot on the trail of those discounts the other day, flipping through the pages of the Old House Gardens catalog, when I noticed an arresting antique tulip called General Ney. It … Read more
MILESTONES Eight weeks ago I wrote about my resolution to spend this calendar year making a concerted effort to perfect my garden. By agreeing to open the garden for a local garden tour in early September, I managed to suspend an additional small but sharp sword of Damocles over my head. This in turn … Read more
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS There are those who go out into their gardens armed with cell phones. There are others who can’t move without an iPod. If that works for them, more power to them–literally and figuratively. There is always something to be said for connectedness of all kinds. However, it doesn’t work for me. … Read more
THE SUMMER OF OUR DISCONTENT Summer is almost here. The good news is that plants have gotten through spring’s frenetic growth orgy and slowed down to a more reasonable pace. The rampant growth of noxious pests like chickweed has ceased and it is finally possible to keep up with the weeding, pruning, mowing and … Read more
GROWING WILD In 1961 author Irving Stone published a best-selling biographical novel, The Agony and the Ecstasy, on the life of Michaelangelo. I could use Stone’s title to describe my garden at this moment. The “ecstasy” part is easy. The first roses have finally begun to bloom, ending their long winter and early … Read more
