I have always had a soft spot for alpine plants. Cold winds keep them short and tough. Thin soil forces their roots to reach deep into crevices to find water and nutrients. Short growing seasons mean that they must do their existential tasks—sprouting, flowering and setting seed—in a compressed time frame. All of that is … Read more
Everyone has a garden dead zone. It can be a small area or a larger one where nothing seems to last very long. You buy plants over and over again that are labeled as “hardy” or “tough”, and install them with high hopes, only to watch helplessly as they struggle and die. Containers might work … Read more
Sometimes I think it would be useful to have an alias, or maybe even several. A false name allows you to try on other lives and opinions without scaring the people who know you best. The practice has certainly become increasingly popular. People on social media do it all the time. Alicia Amherst, who lived … Read more
Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, is one of my favorite garden destinations. For the price of admission, you can spend a day wallowing in world class horticultural splendor and, unless you venture into the less cultivated areas, you will never see weeds. The beds are meticulously tended and if any weed dares to raise … Read more
This year has been a great one for monarch butterflies—at least in my neighborhood—and that makes me feel hopeful. In fact, the news about climate change has been so dire that every monarch sighting is a celebration. Some butterflies are rapid flyers, navigating the air in a blur of beating wings. But monarchs often float … Read more
