THE ADVANTAGES OF HEIGHT It is winter. The garden catalogs tantalize me with pictures of eternal sunshine and flowers. The view outside my windows depresses me as I watch the gray branches whipping back and forth in the intermittent wind storm that has besieged us for the last three weeks. If I were more virtuous, … Read more
THE GARDENER AND THE DOG A friend of mine is the proud human companion of an adolescent golden retriever. The dog, whom I will call “B.”, to avoid embarrassing him, is among the most intelligent and handsome of his breed, but he seems to have some of the same problems as male human adolescents. … Read more
FURTHER ADVENTURES OF MOLLY THE WITCH Three years ago I bought a wonderful species peony with an unpronounceable Latin name: Paeonia daurica ssp mlokosevitschii. Known to its friends as “Molly the Witch,” this peony is native to the Caucasus Mountains and features delectable poppy-like flowers the color of spring sunlight. Fat clusters of … Read more
BLACK LOCUST “I need a tree identification,” wrote my friend. “It’s medium-tall with compound leaves and pink flowers that look like wisteria.” The e-mail directed me to an intersection in the next town where I could see the mystery tree for myself. My friend, the new owner of a country property, was clearly quite … Read more
TREE PEONIES Somehow I ended up with four tree peonies. I only paid for one of them, which was supposed to be yellow and turned out to have bright cerise flowers. The others came to me as gifts from a fellow gardener who was moving and couldn’t take his tree peonies with him. I … Read more
