Reckoning

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

Aster Apologies

In my part of the world it has been raining ceaselessly—or so it seems—for days on end. The diminishing minutes of daylight are further diminished by the perpetual cloud cover. The garden is not just soggy, it is drowning. If this weather keeps up, some of us will be starting our annual bout of seasonal … Read more

Wild Asters

I love the big, bumptious, fast-spreading asters in my garden.  There is ‘Alma Potschke’, often written about and even more often spotted in every single one of my garden beds.   I know she is officially an “it”, but calling her “she” seems more logical.  ‘Alma’ self-seeds as if she thinks extinction is just around the … Read more