THE PRICE OF BEAUTY Every time my mother came home from a dinner party or other social outing, she would take off her pointy-toed high heels, sigh with relief and say, “Pain is the price of beauty.” Every time I come in from the arduous task of raking leaves, I remove my muddy garden … Read more
GARDENS OF AGE Despite their best efforts, baby boomers are aging. Even the fittest baby boom gardeners are feeling twinges and pains as once-limber limbs and cooperative joints are transformed into achy appendages. Fortunately most baby boomers’ fingers can still find their way around a keyboard because they are beginning to think about … Read more
GHOSTS OF AMARYLLIS PAST This is the time of year when I generally order–or at least contemplate ordering–hybrid amaryllis or Hippeastrum bulbs for holiday gifts and home display. Though the most stalwart of the dahlias, roses, mums and asters are still flowering, hard frosts are just around the corner and the growing season is … Read more
FOXTAIL GRASS The popularity of ornamental grasses rolls on unabated. From miscanthus to fescue, they are everywhere–in places as diverse as strip mall parking lots and high-end residential landscapes. It is unfashionable to say so, but I can take or leave most of them. Some, like miscanthus or Chinese ribbon grass, are simply too … Read more
STANDARDIZATION I have always hated trimming shrubs–and by trimming I am referring to the taming of our long privet hedges by clipping them straight across the top to achieve a level height. Even now that I have violated my personal rule about power tools and mastered the electric hedge trimmer, the task is tedious. … Read more
