Unless you are a teenager, it is generally a good thing to be “grounded.” For non-teens, the word implies common sense and a focus on reality, as opposed to flights of fantasy. People who are grounded are reliable—the kind you want as friends or neighbors. The kind you rarely get as relatives. More and more … Read more
The summer doldrums have officially ended in my garden. Two weeks ago, the roses were sulking through midsummer, sighing like Victorian literary characters and bemoaning their blackspotted leaves. Now they sport happy new blooms and almost sing. Morning glories put out fresh purple trumpets every day as they continue their push for world—or at least … Read more
When I was on vacation in August, I saw the most inspiring bioswale I have ever seen. Some people may ask, “What on earth is a bioswale?” The answer is simple. A bioswale is a more sophisticated and ecologically sound version of a drainage ditch. Bioswales are designed to hold, channel and sometimes filter the … Read more
Stephen Scanniello, horticulture authority and one-time rosarian at the Brooklyn Botanic garden, once said that all gardens need some purple foliage to add interest. By “purple,” he meant a shade so dark that it is almost black. Combined with green, and especially golden green hues, this purple/black transforms mundane planting schemes into visual tapestries. Thanks … Read more
What do gardeners do on vacation? Visit gardens, of course, or, if we have places to do so, garden in our vacation spaces. Ever the horticultural glutton, I do both. My sister and I own a summer cottage on nine acres of land in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. My maternal grandfather … Read more
