SWEETSHRUB Some shrubs are useful but annoying. Privet falls into that category, especially when massed into a hedge. In my experience, the top and sides of a privet hedge need trimming every other week during the growing season and the base is invariably full of noxious weeds. Privet and poison ivy, for example, … Read more
SPLENDOR IN THE ONION GRASS Onion grass leaps forth from the earth in March and April, heralding the longer days and warmer temperatures of spring. It is one of the seasonal scourges of lawn-proud suburbanites and the mowing crews who service those lawns. If you saw a clump of onion grass that had … Read more
MARSH MARIGOLD I often walk in the glen that runs through the center of my town. Parts of the area have been left in a semi-natural state and during the growing season I look for, and frequently find, flowers. Early spring brings several patches of snowdrops, which were probably “planted” by light-fingered squirrels that … Read more
DAFFODIL PAIRS Yesterday I was having a haircut and discussing daffodils with the stylist. My daffodils are up and blooming and last season at this time, hers were in the same situation. This season, however, is a different story. Why? Because her husband removed all the daffodils from their garden. In my family, this … Read more
ROSA MUNDI All winter I have been having a crisis of conscience about the enormous stand of miscanthus grass that presides over an area on the south side of my house. Now, just as the light has returned to the landscape after winter’s darkness, I have seen the future of the miscanthus, and it … Read more
