The Garden Tour has come and gone. The garden looked better than it has in several years and I was able to greet visitors secure in the knowledge that absolutely every piece of garden equipment and detritus was safely stowed in the closed garage. It will probably take months to get it all out and … Read more
It’s no secret to even casual nature observers that we are having a butterfly free-for-all this year. Red admirals, those fast flyers with the distinctive orange wing bands, are everywhere. Experts differ on the reasons for the unusual numbers. The most common explanation is that the Red Admirals are tourists, lured up from the South … Read more
The ajuga that infests large parts of my back garden is blooming and its blue spires light up the entire planting scheme. The plants also attract a lot of attention. Bees of all kinds are rampant, as are butterflies. Earlier in the week I saw five red admiral butterflies, distinguished by the broad orange … Read more
The four garden chores I dislike the most are pruning, hedging, edging and mulching. For the next twenty-two days until the Garden Tour, I will be spending hours on all three. Other gardeners might add weeding to that list, but I find it relaxing to pull weeds. We have lots of weeds, so under … Read more
CRINUMS Southerners have their little secrets, some of which they have kept for decades, if not centuries. One of those secrets is the crinum, also known as “angel lily,” “apostle lily,” “candystick lily,” Confederate lily,” “deep sea lily,” “milk-and-wine lily,” “peppermint lily” and “southern lily.” You can be sure that anything that has … Read more
