Military Airs

MILITARY AIRS             July is full of long sticky days, summer vacations and enticing specials on fall-planted bulbs like tulips and daffodils.  I was hot on the trail of those discounts the other day, flipping through the pages of the Old House Gardens catalog, when I noticed an arresting antique tulip called General Ney.  It … Read more

Milestones

MILESTONES             Eight weeks ago I wrote about my resolution to spend this calendar year making a concerted effort to perfect my garden.  By agreeing to open the garden for a local garden tour in early September, I managed to suspend an additional small but sharp sword of Damocles over my head.  This in turn … Read more

Sights and Sounds

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS             There are those who go out into their gardens armed with cell phones.  There are others who can’t move without an iPod.  If that works for them, more power to them–literally and figuratively.  There is always something to be said for connectedness of all kinds.  However, it doesn’t work for me. … Read more

This Is the Year

THIS IS THE YEAR             Every February baseball fans wake up at the beginning of Spring Training and all of them say, “This is the year!”  You know the rest: “This is the year the Mets–or Cubs or Cardinals–will go all the way.”  There is a palpable feeling of excitement and a renewed sense of … Read more

A Garden Perfected

Every spring I fall in love with my garden.  This happens on schedule, even if the clean-up chores aren’t finished, chickweed is engulfing the beds and the weed whacker won’t start.  When I look out at the clumps of daffodils, all is right with the world.             Spring is also the time of plant sales … Read more