The plants that botanists sometimes call “spring ephemerals,” including trilliums, common violets and hepaticas, always seem magical to me. They push up through bare earth when warmer weather is still a vague suggestion, and proceed to flower, set seed and disappear, all in manner of a few months. Intellectually I know that ephemerals are always … Read more
Last week a major change happened in my garden. For many years four giant holly shrubs dominated the south side of my house. Two were probably planted deliberately by a previous owner, and two were likely self-sown, including one that was too close to the house. I am quite sure that the hollies started as … Read more
In winters past, I thought about keeping boredom at bay by doing all kinds of things—migrating to a warmer climate, cleaning out the cellar, or finally applying a needlepoint cover that I made five years ago to a naked chair seat. To date, none of those things have happened. This year I am thinking smaller. … Read more
When the weather is cold and blustery the best thing gardeners can do is water all the houseplants—sparingly—and hunker down with the new garden catalogs and/or websites. I prefer the paper variety, but I am old school. So many vendors have gone to online-only offerings that I have to resort to the computer to get … Read more
I dragged my heels for at least ten days before putting away the holiday decorations. All the boxes went down to the basement before I realized that I had forgotten the outdoor bows, pinecones and other bright relics of the season just past. This was Freudian, I have no doubt. Now the house is enveloped … Read more
