The Gardeners' Apprentice Garden centers are catnip to me. I watch for them when I travel, and if at all possible, stop in, even if only for a few minutes. In winter, I make note of promising places, aiming for return trips when the days lengthen and the sap has risen. I have passed a particularly tempting garden … Read more
The rock band Deep Purple was formed in the late 1960’s and named after an old, popular English song. The first line of that song goes, ‘When deep purple falls over sleepy garden walls…” The rest is a wistful remembrance of lovers coming together as day fades to night. I think of “Deep Purple” because … Read more
The fall bulb catalogs are arriving day by day, their pages full of impossibly big tulips, daffodils of every description, and hyacinths whose portraits are so vibrant that you can almost smell them. I really should get my orders in—and I will in a week or so–but for right now I need more immediate gratification. … Read more
This year has been a great one for monarch butterflies—at least in my neighborhood—and that makes me feel hopeful. In fact, the news about climate change has been so dire that every monarch sighting is a celebration. Some butterflies are rapid flyers, navigating the air in a blur of beating wings. But monarchs often float … Read more
After all my years as a gardener, you would think that I could hang out the “no vacancy” sign over my beds and borders. But sometimes weak plants die and underperformers need relocation to more congenial spaces. Occasionally I swear that the groundhogs carry off choice specimens and replant them according to their own aesthetic … Read more
