The Gardeners' Apprentice DOUBLE OR NOTHING My trade association, the Garden Writers of America, refers to its members as “Garden Communicators”. As a veteran “garden communicator” I receive a boatload of mail order plant, seed and garden equipment catalogs every year. The flow started before Christmas, and now every day I can expect to find a catalog … Read more
UNSEASONABLE WEATHER When I take stock of the current state of my garden, I realize that this may just be the Year of Perpetual Bloom. English garden writers have been bragging about their year-round flowers for decades, if not centuries, but those of us in the northeastern United States have never had that luxury. … Read more
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
