MILESTONES Eight weeks ago I wrote about my resolution to spend this calendar year making a concerted effort to perfect my garden. By agreeing to open the garden for a local garden tour in early September, I managed to suspend an additional small but sharp sword of Damocles over my head. This in turn … Read more
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS There are those who go out into their gardens armed with cell phones. There are others who can’t move without an iPod. If that works for them, more power to them–literally and figuratively. There is always something to be said for connectedness of all kinds. However, it doesn’t work for me. … Read more
THE SUMMER OF OUR DISCONTENT Summer is almost here. The good news is that plants have gotten through spring’s frenetic growth orgy and slowed down to a more reasonable pace. The rampant growth of noxious pests like chickweed has ceased and it is finally possible to keep up with the weeding, pruning, mowing and … Read more
DOUBLE GERANIUMS In my garden this will be the Year of the Fluffy Flower. Ever since the first mail order catalogs arrived last December I have been mesmerized by the pictures of double-flowered varieties of hellebores, daylilies, primroses and Shasta daisies. My usual love of simplicity has gone south in favor of the pursuit of … Read more
DELPHINIUM STAND-INS If you live in a place with short unpredictable springs and hot sticky summers, you probably have issues with delphiniums. You can buy them, you can plant them, but you can’t expect them to give you joy forever. In fact, you frequently can’t expect them to perform beyond the first season. This … Read more
