For millennia, the scent of lavender, botanically known as Lavendula, has been renowned for its ability to promote calm, consolation and even pain relief. For those reasons and many others, I grow this well-loved herb in my garden. I don’t have a dedicated herb garden, but I am increasingly using lavender throughout my mixed borders. … Read more
Every year I vow to try new plants in the garden—not necessarily flashy new trademarked hybrids, but species that I haven’t grown before. This year, my first new species comes courtesy of my daughter, who has no garden of her own, but is always on the lookout for plants for me. This year she found … Read more
I bought a new hardy geranium last week. That is not news. Over the years I have developed a small collection of varieties that I love for their beautiful flowers, interesting leaves and adaptable dispositions. The sturdiest of my collection is Geranium macrorrhizum, the big-root geranium, with pink, five-petaled spring flowers and deeply dissected, apple-scented … Read more
The best time to see woodland and woodland-edge wildflowers is in spring, and the best place to find them is in undisturbed areas in the country, or on the edges of urban or suburban parks or botanical gardens. Wildlife reserves are good too, as are nature trails. On vacation last week I hiked on a … Read more
I was very excited recently to see a newspaper article entitled “How to get your garden spring ready in one weekend.” I was ready, the garden was more than ready, and frankly, I was looking for those magical tips and miraculous hacks that would condense the work of several weeks into one forty-eight hour period. … Read more
