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
Winter has set in for good and even the toughest of the garden flowers have gone the way of all things. I look longingly on the remains of the last fall-blooming crocuses—two brave singletons that bloomed on a warm day last week. Having done their duty, they have folded their petals and taken to their … Read more
Nearly two centuries ago, Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, an English physician and amateur botanist, made a surprising discovery. Ward liked to study moth chrysalises, which he kept secure in sealed glass containers. Inspection of one such container revealed that seeds embedded in a bit of dirt inside had germinated and sprouted. He left the container unopened … Read more
I have a friend who lost a cherished front-yard tree. After the tree surgeons removed the remains, he began the hunt for a new one. The choices were endless. His lot is large and could accommodate a sizeable specimen. The old tree was deciduous, rather than evergreen; as a fan of autumn color, he wanted … Read more
Every year about this time, stores of all sorts sell something called “Christmas Cactus,” a showy plant with segmented foliage that arches out over the sides of the pot. Since most people find the foliage relatively unimpressive, the seasonal specials are always sold in bud or with newly-opened blooms. The long, tubular flowers, which appear … Read more
