The rose family is filled with plants that combine incredible beauty with dire peril. Roses and raspberries have thorns, but those are nothing compared to the small daggers that bedeck the stems of hawthorns and flowering quinces. There is not a flower lover on earth who, when sighting a flowering quince in full bloom, would … Read more
At the beginning of every season I take inventory of my garden to see what works and what doesn’t, and where the “holes” are in my current planting schemes. This task is easier to do in the spring, because the growth is less abundant. Every year I vow to plant more tulips and I generally … Read more
Spring so far has been chilly, which has not put a damper on the wildlife in my garden. Two weeks ago I found three buxom female turkeys strutting around the back garden, as bold as brass. There was no male in sight, so I assume they were having a girls’ morning out. They looked mildly … Read more
For years common straw—that unassuming by-product of grain production—has played a supporting role in our homes and gardens. It has cushioned our strawberries, keeping the fruit from rotting on the ground. It has adorned our porches in the fall, sometimes serving as modular seating for Halloween scarecrows or faux zombies. It has mulched our garden … Read more
The weather is not cooperating with me. The vernal equinox has passed, the snowdrops have been up for weeks and the hellebores are blooming their heads off. Last year at this time, temperatures were in the sixties. That was unseasonable. This is unreasonable. It is almost April and the weather people are still using obscene … Read more
