Previous generations had no “second season”, just as they never experienced the Halloween industrial complex or the curse of perpetual screen time. Fall used to be a leisurely affair that included harvesting whatever was left in the vegetable garden and replacing the fading pots of annuals by the front door with plump chrysanthemums. It also … Read more
Today the heat is on—literally and figuratively. The autumn equinox has passed and the end of the growing season is in sight, at least in my part of the world. The temperature has taken its first dip into the cooler fall range, though we are only in sweater territory during the day, and warmer weather … Read more
Spring is, without a doubt, the busiest time of the gardening year. Everything seems to burst into new life in the same short span of time. Plants grow at exponential rates. Weeds spring up even faster than that, especially onion grass. As if that isn’t bad enough, winter debris lurks everywhere and must be ferreted … Read more
Right now it is gray, drippy and chilly outside my window. Even though the last roses are still shivering on the bushes, I feel starved for color. Grabbing at emotional straws, I peer hopefully through the mist for the new growth on the scarlet willow or Salix alba var. vitellina ‘Britzensis’—but the little tree does … Read more
A few years ago, I bought several gorgeous ornamental cabbages to brighten up my late fall garden. I love cabbage and its relative, kale, in my borders, but I hate it on my plate. Because of that, I assumed that the resident varmints would feel the same way. I was wrong. Two days after I … Read more
