WINTER GARDENER A couple of nights ago, I got tired of being an armchair gardener. Having overdosed on glossy catalog copy and over-the-top catalog photos, I longed to get out and do more than just walk around my frozen garden. I felt my muscles atrophying. The weather was relatively mild. The butterfly bushes screamed to … Read more
SOLDIER OF FORTUNEI When you buy a house, certain things come with the property. If the house is old, like mine, you get creaky steps, sloping floors and strange nighttime noises that defy explanation. When we bought our house eleven years ago, we also got Euonymus fortunei, sometimes known as “winter creeper.” Winter creeper did … Read more
LADY’S MANTLE Cottage gardens are full of frothy plants–low growing specimens with masses of small flowers that make a habit of surging beyond their boundaries. Like the froth on a lapping wave, they encroach gently on walkways or adjacent areas, softening hard lines and creating a feeling of abundance. Low-growing salvias, annual California poppies and … Read more
THE ADVANTAGES OF HEIGHT It is winter. The garden catalogs tantalize me with pictures of eternal sunshine and flowers. The view outside my windows depresses me as I watch the gray branches whipping back and forth in the intermittent wind storm that has besieged us for the last three weeks. If I were more virtuous, … Read more
CROTON The word “croton” or the Latin binomial, Codiaeum variegatum, might not ring a bell, but if you frequent garden centers or indoor plant merchandisers, you have probably seen the tropical specimens that go by those names. The flowers are insignificant, but the foliage is gaudy–large, leathery, semi-upright leaves in shades of bright yellow, green … Read more
