Summer is here and the color dynamic in my front garden has changed. One month ago, purple and white held sway, with the explosion of Siberian iris and the even bigger explosion of tradescantia or spiderwort. Now they have faded away, soon to be cut back. I would allow my army of garden minions to … Read more
In the winter I tend to avoid doing necessary things, like cleaning out closets, in favor of wallowing in garden catalogs, shelter magazines, and my large collection of garden and horticultural books. I was indulging myself the other day, when I found out, courtesy of one of the better shelter magazines, that carnations are unfashionable. … Read more
“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” That evocative line, from Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca, has become famous, casting an elegiac spell over the rest of the story. I have similar thoughts and dreams about gardens in my past. I am certain that other committed gardeners have the same experiences. Not long … Read more
The countryside around my family’s summer cottage in Central New York State is studded with former farm sites. Sometimes buildings or their dilapidated remains are evident on the overgrown lots that were once the hubs of working family farms. More often, all that remains are the horticultural memories of those farms—garden plants once tended by … Read more
Early summer is daisy time, with daisy family species like Shastas, echinacea and coreopsis holding forth in multi-petaled radiance. But all the daisies in the world cannot outshine the tall trumpet lilies that are also making glorious music in gardens right now. Regal lilies or Lilium regale, with their voluptuous, golden-throated trumpets, are among the … Read more
