The Gardeners' Apprentice Never underestimate the power of a woman with a good pair of loppers. Armed with those loppers, plus clippers, a pruning saw and a stout pair of gloves, I finally triumphed last week over the dastardly privet hedge that runs along one side of my property. The process has taken just this side of forever–almost … Read more
More than a few garden pundits have decreed that the most sublime and dramatic horticultural effects occur only in all green or mostly green gardens. Flowers, they say, are ephemeral, and therefore superfluous, with gaudy shapes and colors that disrupt the harmony inherent in a plant collection that showcases the many shades and textures of green. … Read more
A great, recently-deceased English garden expert never failed to recommend that weeding be done from a kneeling position. One of his equally great American counterparts, who is still among us, dictates that weeders should never kneel. What’s a diligent gardener to do? Kneeling is hard on the knees and bending can be torture for the … Read more
The longer that I toil in the soil the more I appreciate versatile plants like digitalis, most often known as foxglove. Planting a selection of foxglove species and cultivars in the garden will provide you with many weeks of colorful bloom in the spring and summer, but that is only the beginning. The plants also … Read more
I have a passion for the yellow-flowered forms of common plants. Yellow roses, like Graham Thomas and Golden Unicorn, entrance me so thoroughly that I am willing to wage an unending battle with black spot to enjoy their charms. I covet yellow violets and the illusive yellow geranium. Not long ago I acquired a yellow-flowering … Read more
