In the suburban gardens near my house, I hardly ever see common hollyhocks or Alcea rosea. Maybe they are considered too old-fashioned, rough-looking, or unruly. It might be because they grow so tall that they sometimes need staking. It’s equally possible that they have suffered the same fate that afflicted dahlias until a decade or … Read more
I am about to leave for vacation at my family’s summer cottage in Central New York State. Over the years I have developed several garden beds on the property. Even though I only see and tend them for brief periods each year, they hold a special place in my horticultural heart. Ten ago I bought … Read more
Part of the fun of gardening is discovering and growing new plants. There is nothing better than scrolling through online venders’ websites, or, even better, strolling through the display pallets at the garden center, and feeling the thrill of love at first sight when an unfamiliar species or variety comes into view. Last week I … Read more
Are there parts of your garden, home, or life that leave you perennially dissatisfied? Do those same sources of dissatisfaction get ignored because the presses of business, leisure or ordinary disinclination get in the way? If the answer to any of the above is “yes”, we have something in common. I am ignoring the uncomfortable … Read more
Last year the sporadically fertile soil of my garden gave birth to a giant foxglove. Bearing extremely large rose-purple flowers, it soared to six feet tall. I looked up at it with awe and wonder, since I neither planted nor tended it during its formative months. Foxgloves, or digitalis species, are so easy to grow … Read more
