One of the leading horticultural newsletters has just announced the next “big thing” in home gardening–the cutting garden. It is now clear that vegetable gardeners, who have gotten used to being considered cutting edge, will have to step aside in favor of those who are actually cutting flowers. The wheel of fashion simply never stops … Read more
BOOK REVIEW: THE QUEST FOR THE ROSE One of my favorite horticultural subjects is roses and I have lots of books on them. In Search of Lost Roses, Thomas Christopher’s 2002 book on “rose rustling” and the discovery of old rose varieties in out-of-the-way places, is one of the best. Another is A Rose … Read more
I just spent an afternoon walking the High Line, New York City’s vertical park built on the remnants of an elevated freight line on the West Side. I have heard people sing its praises since the first section opened in 2009 (a subsequent section opened last year, with another still to come) and those praises … Read more
Having just finished seasonal pruning of a rambunctious and assertively thorny rambling rose, I am reminded of the movie title, “There Will Be Blood.” The rose in question, which grows wildly, suckers aggressively and would take over the world if given the chance, also produces hundreds of winsome single, rose-pink blooms over the course of … Read more
UP ON THE ROOF The media has given a lot of publicity over the past few years to “green” structures, including roofs and walls. Green roofs, when properly supported, planted and tended, can keep buildings cooler than conventional roofing materials. Green walls are a way to beautify interior or exterior space by growing plants … Read more
