Count on January to deliver uncertain winter weather, post-holiday doldrums and the bills for December extravagance. It also brings the moment gardeners have been waiting for—a chance to sit down with catalogs and websites and plan for the coming growing season. Snow days were meant for wallowing in horticultural daydreams, spending unlimited imaginary money, and … Read more
The other day I felt the familiar pangs of plant love at first sight. This has happened often over the years because I have a fickle heart and endless curiosity about beautiful and unfamiliar plants. Most of the time these sudden crushes result in good plant acquisitions. A few have turned out badly, but I … Read more
Nine chances out of ten, if you are reading this, you have an amaryllis in the house. Maybe it arrived ready to bloom just before the December holidays. If so, you may still be enjoying the last of the bright flowers. Or it might have come to you as a kit. If you followed the … Read more
Somewhere out in my yard, General Köhler lies sleeping peacefully under a light blanket of snow. I expect he is snoring, or would be, if he were not a hyacinth bulb waiting for the earth to warm up next spring. These days merchandisers frequently name plants according to purported ease of cultivation—“Oso Easy” and “Hasslefree” … Read more
When you think about the intelligent, courageous and, inevitably, flawed people who founded our country, a host of names come to mind. Bernard McMahon’s is not among them. However, McMahon—1775-1816—knew or corresponded with many of the political and horticultural notables of his era. He was a garden mentor to Thomas Jefferson, who may be considered … Read more
