TOO MUCH, TOO FAST This is the time of year when the garden is a rampaging torrent of growth. Plants—cultivated and wild—are increasing with reckless abandon, vying with each other in Darwinian attempts to attract as many pollinators as possible. Every day I pull out handfuls of garlic mustard, chickweed, immature pokeweed and other noxious … Read more
Spring so far has been chilly, which has not put a damper on the wildlife in my garden. Two weeks ago I found three buxom female turkeys strutting around the back garden, as bold as brass. There was no male in sight, so I assume they were having a girls’ morning out. They looked mildly … Read more
I have started the great cut-back. The scores of tall aster ‘Alma Potschke’ have mostly finished their dramatic run of pink and purple fireworks and now stand ready to reseed themselves everywhere. Birds will take some of that seed, but if I don’t get ‘Alma’ under control, I will have lots of grubbing out to … Read more
The deer in my suburban neighborhood are not numerous yet and have lots of vegetation to choose from. This is a good thing because municipal restrictions mean that eight-foot deer fencing is not an option. I have worked out my own system for dealing with our most frequent visitors, Mr. Antlers and his two-stag posse. … Read more
