I spent part of the day weeding out an old rock garden by the side of the stone staircase that leads down to the terrace by our summer cottage. Grass from the small adjoining lawn had invaded the rockery, almost obliterating it. As I dug out the stubborn tufts of grass, exposed spots ripe for … Read more
I have been thinking lately about good, easy to grow low hedges for my upper back garden. A garden center display reminded me about an old favorite–Teucrium chamaedrys or wall germander. This evergreen member of the mint (Lamiaceae) family has long been used in herb and knot gardens. From my perspective, part of its value … Read more
Hostas are so reliable, easy to grow and useful that they have become ubiquitous. If they weren’t beloved by slugs and deer, they would probably be the most popular plants in the world. I use them in my garden, but I frequently take them for granted. The leaves–plain or variegated; large or small; apple … Read more
Despite my best efforts, my garden has too few late summer flowers. For years I have been shy about putting in enough dahlias, which will bloom their hearts out given a bit of sunny space and water. They come in so many sizes, shapes and colors that even those, like me, who disdain the flashy … Read more
Browsing through a local antiques/secondhand shop the other day, I came upon an edition of the classic book The Fragrant Garden by Louise Beebe Wilder. The book’s forward contains a wonderful quote: “There are many gates into the world of reality and gardening is one of them” The author is Helen Morgenthau Fox and the … Read more
