Shady Characters

Novice gardeners—and even some experienced ones—often curse the shade that looms over their beds, borders and other growing spaces.  One of the immutable facts of gardening life is that if you want armloads of roses or bushels of tomatoes, you need lots of sunshine. Given that reality, you have two choices.  Either you can move … Read more

Mourning Widow

I last thought seriously about Geranium phaeum, aka “the mourning widow,” about six years ago.  I was in the first throes of a serious love affair with all kinds of hardy geraniums and was swept off my feet by the phaeum species, because it thrives so well in shade.  I bought one and it died, … Read more