The Gardeners' Apprentice CHRISTMAS CACTUS If the State Police were responsible for the arrest and prosecution of people who neglect their houseplants, I would probably be on their “Ten Most Wanted” list. I love plants, but I have a busy life and sometimes I don’t provide optimal conditions for them. This year the plant I neglected the … Read more
AMARYLLIS AND PAPERWHITES I am an optimist and it gets me into trouble all the time. Right now some of the eleven amaryllis and forty paperwhite bulbs that I so optimistically ordered many weeks ago are in pots and dishes scattered all over the house, while the rest wait to be planted, rebuking me … Read more
TOOLS OF THE EARTH Jeff Taylor is a man who loves tools. He is also an enthusiastic gardener. The twin passions come together in Tools of the Earth, (Chronicle Books, 1998). Taylor, who lives in Oregon, is a professional carpenter as well as a freelance writer whose columns appeared regularly in This Old … Read more
YEAR END REVIEW The end of the growing season is here, and it’s time to size up which plants and practices worked this past year and which didn’t. I do this review on a more or less continuous basis as I rake leaves, plant bulbs or pick the various odds and ends of … Read more
Everyone is familiar with the classic love/hate relationship. You come into contact with a person or thing–usually, in my experience, it’s a person. You find that there is much to admire about the person, but the he or she also has traits that drive you crazy. From the sound of it, the late, great English … Read more
