fall

Miles to Go

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MILES TO GO             When I started on my personal garden perfection project last February, I gave myself one year to make the garden so lovely that I wouldn’t be ashamed to take a page from garden writer Beverley Nichols’ book and invite anyone and everyone to see it.  In between then and now I’ve … Read more

Paperwhites

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PAPERWHITES             I have a love/hate relationship with paperwhites, those non-hardy narcissus whose bulbs are on sale everywhere starting about now.  When they bloom, these relatives of the common daffodil are lovely and winsome–a harbinger of spring at a dark time of year.  Buying them always seems like a good idea in October, which is … Read more

Mystery Broom

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MYSTERY BROOM             If you are attuned to plants, you never know when you’ll encounter a plant identification mystery.  My daughter and I found one last week while we were out for a walk on a local side street.  We were passing a house that sat on a corner lot atop a slight embankment.  The … Read more

Lessons

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LESSONS               Three days from now my garden will be open to the public as part of a local fundraiser centered on art, music and gardens.  The preparation for the event was a big part of my campaign to spend one year, beginning last February, making my garden as lovely as it could be. … Read more

Year End Review

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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