The Gardener's Apprentice

BULBS               Planting something that will sit in the frozen ground for months before bursting into glorious flower seems like an even greater act of faith than sowing seeds in the spring.  Still, most gardeners feel compelled to install bulbs anyway; sometimes continuing for years after the threat of aching backs and creaky knees … Read more

SEASONAL SUCCESS             We had a rainy growing season in much of the northeast this past spring and summer and I have heard a lot of garden horror stories about blighted tomatoes, drowned roses and the epidemic of fungal diseases.  I’ve told a lot of those stories myself and my fellow gardeners are almost always … Read more

MONTAUK DAISIES             I feel sorry for the Montauk daisy.  It has a difficult Latin name, Nipponanthemum nipponicum, which means, literally, “the Japanese flower from Japan.”  Before acquiring that mouthful of a name, it wore the slightly simpler Latin moniker, Chrysanthemum nipponicum, which means “the golden flower from Japan.”  Obviously taxonomists felt that since only … Read more

MULTITASKING IN AUTUMN               Seasonal rains are sending cascades of water down on this part of the northeast.   My neighbor’s hemlock tree has responded by shedding millions of needles.  I give thanks for every one of them because they make such wonderful mulch.  All I have to do is wait until they dry, sweep … Read more