GLAMOR SQUASH If you want to be truly fashionable these days, turn yourself into a squash. These curvaceous vegetables are showing up everywhere–pictured in handsome coffee table books and shelter magazines, not to mention the pages of every garden catalog. If Hubbards and butternuts, which already seem to have publicists, also had legs, they … Read more
CLEAN-UP My beach garden in the Finger Lakes is home to a lovely, fall-blooming sedum with the varietal name ‘Black Jack.’ It is a tall and similar in configuration to the well-known Sedum ‘Autumn Joy.’ The difference between the varieties is that ‘Black Jack’ features leaves and stems that appear almost black. The combination … Read more
BAD TASTE Several weeks ago, I wrote about this year’s local wildlife explosion and my neighbors’ agitation over the small deer herd that has taken up residence on our block. The deer are still with us and were last seen chewing indiscriminately though some overgrown wisteria on the other side of my back fence. … Read more
WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM A few years ago I was a smug gardener, secure in the knowledge that the worst wildlife problem in my garden was the groundhog. Granted, he was as large as a beach ball, perpetually hungry and capable of digging underground routes reminiscent of the Lincoln Tunnel; but he was manageable. … Read more
CARPETING A few weeks ago, I wrote about my ongoing study of pioneering Irish gardener and writer, William Robinson (1848-1935). The measure of a good garden writer is the degree to which he or she inspires you to pick up a trowel and run out into your own garden. Though much of his … Read more
