The great day of autumn reckoning in my garden is almost at hand. The New England asters, which have provided a magnificent, impressionistic spectacle in the front beds, are holding tenaciously to their last blooms. Over the coming weekend I will cut back all the tall stalks, leaving only the ‘Monch’ asters to continue billowing … Read more
My front strip—that hard-to-cultivate patch between street and sidewalk—never supported much grass. I gave up on it years ago and substituted plants tough enough to take the sometimes fatal combination of abysmal soil and perpetual exposure. Hostas hold forth under the maple tree, with heuchera, hellebores and other shade lovers also succeeding within its shadow. … Read more
