For years I have damned osmanthus with faint praise or no praise at all. Two of the evergreen shrubs stand silently in front of the house, growing nicely and receiving absolutely nothing from me except an occasional, grudging pruning. When I think of them at all, I think about what I would grow in their … Read more
On May 1, 1891, Geraldine Mayo, of County Kildare in Ireland, armed herself with a stout pair of loppers and climbed a ladder—long skirts and all. “I got on the top of the Yew hedge in the garden at the risk of my life..,” she wrote later, adding that the risky yet satisfying hedge pruning … Read more
Every year in late December scores of visitors make their way to Stonehenge, the ancient earth and stone monument near Salisbury, England, to celebrate the winter solstice. The enormous stones are arranged on a solstitial axis, meaning that at the winter solstice, the sun sets directly over the stones at one end of the axis. … Read more
Not long ago a friend described the process of wrapping her fig tree—Ficus carica–for the winter. The image triggered a cascade of memories, going back to my childhood in western New York State. My town had a very large Italian-American population and many families, especially those with immigrant parents or grandparents, grew figs. I am … Read more
GARDENER’S GIFTS Every year at holiday time, gift givers everywhere give thanks for their friends’ and relatives’ hobbies. Where would we be without culinary gadgets for the cooks, golf paraphernalia for the duffers and Sephora gift cards for those with an unquenchable desire for makeup? Gardening offers the same gifting opportunities. However, there is … Read more
