Walking or driving down the street in fall can be perilous. In my part of the world, the drivers are bad enough at all times, but from September through Thanksgiving, both drivers and pedestrians also have to contend with the falling acorns, beechnuts and other tree-born fruiting bodies falling from the sky. An acorn hitting … Read more
As they say in the movies, “We have a situation.” The situation in question is on the south side of my house, which is dark, dank and completely lacking in charm. I don’t like it and neither do the plants that live there. It has to be rectified. The relatively narrow area between the side … Read more
No one has to mulch their garden and there are plenty of reasons—read excuses—not to do so. Suppose you contract with a mulch merchant to dump a big load of the stuff in a corner of your driveway. The load always looks much bigger than you expected and suddenly you have a very visible reminder … Read more
Right now, in mid-July, the roses are taking a mid-season rest, while the daisies—coneflowers, coreopsis and Shastas—take center stage. I love them all, but at this moment I am absolutely infatuated with the streptocarpus plants that are currently strutting their flowery stuff on my covered front porch. The name “streptocarpus” is awful, invoking virulent sore … Read more
Three decades ago, the late American humorist, Erma Bombeck, published a book titled, The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank. I don’t have a septic tank, so I can’t attest to the validity of that statement, but I do know that the houseplants are always healthier over the microwave. There is probably a … Read more
