KNIPHOFIA Every year the color gurus at Pantone, Inc. do all kinds of secret research to come up with the “Color of the Year,” which then inspires a multitude of merchandising initiatives. Since I always aspire to be fashion forward, I make it my business to know the “Color of the Year.” This year’s … Read more
GUILT FREE FOXGLOVES I really should write a column about growing tomatoes. The catalogs are coming in fast and furious now, and they are full of tomatoes and other edibles. Even nurseries like White Flower Farm, longtime bastion of ornamental plants, are selling at least a few tomatoes, strawberry plants and berry bushes. … Read more
HUMMERS A few years ago I planted a packet of morning glory seeds in the narrow pocket of earth between the driveway and the trellising that hides the foundation of our house. I have done nothing to encourage them since, but they have reseeded and come up faithfully every year. The variety is ‘Grandpa … Read more
GLAMOR SQUASH If you want to be truly fashionable these days, turn yourself into a squash. These curvaceous vegetables are showing up everywhere–pictured in handsome coffee table books and shelter magazines, not to mention the pages of every garden catalog. If Hubbards and butternuts, which already seem to have publicists, also had legs, they … Read more
CLEAN-UP My beach garden in the Finger Lakes is home to a lovely, fall-blooming sedum with the varietal name ‘Black Jack.’ It is a tall and similar in configuration to the well-known Sedum ‘Autumn Joy.’ The difference between the varieties is that ‘Black Jack’ features leaves and stems that appear almost black. The combination … Read more
