Never say “never” in the garden. It always comes back to haunt you. For years I swore that I would never buy carpet bugle or bugleweed—Aujga reptans—under any circumstances. After all, my property came with an abundant supply that has increased exuberantly over time. Every spring the blue-purple spires light up the entire back garden, … Read more
Lately the balloon flower—Platycodon grandiflorus—has been stalking me. As I wander through garden centers in search of mid-summer bargains, the inflated buds pop out from the pallets. A neighbor’s border overflows with a blue-flowered variety. Last week, on a visit to the main garden of the Cloisters museum in Upper Manhattan, I saw a giant … Read more
Some days you feel as creative as a lump of wet clay. Other days, the creative juices flow. For unaccountable reasons, mine have been flowing, though the days have been hot and sticky. The present creative burst is a good thing, because my garden is in need of a considerable amount of attention. I have … Read more
For the past hundred and one years, the Chelsea Flower Show has celebrated the best in English horticulture and garden design. Sponsored by the Royal Horticultural Society, it is a much-anticipated five-day plant extravaganza that attracts thousands of people. While not nearly as fusty as it once was, it is necessarily bound by a certain … Read more
I have been swept off my feet by a flashy cat, appropriately named ‘Blue Dreams.’ The cat in question is botanical rather than feline, but it has many feline qualities. Like pedigreed, four-footed cats, ‘Blue Dreams’ has a fancy proper name—Nepeta subsessilis ‘Blue Dreams.’ Its stems arch gracefully, reminiscent of a cat’s back and, like … Read more
