Three decades ago, the late American humorist, Erma Bombeck, published a book titled, The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank. I don’t have a septic tank, so I can’t attest to the validity of that statement, but I do know that the houseplants are always healthier over the microwave. There is probably a … Read more
Every garden, large or small, has microclimates. Even if your garden consists of a container array on a balcony or a series of window boxes, growing conditions can change depending on where your plants are located. Whether you want beautiful roses, floriferous hydrangeas, or plentiful zucchini, it pays to be mindful of microclimates. My suburban … Read more
The latter half of the twentieth century produced a bumper crop of great gardeners, garden designers and garden personalities. I have been inspired by many of them, especially British born Beth Chatto, 1923-2018, who shone brightly in that horticultural pantheon. Now, an authorized biography, Beth Chatto: A Life With Plants, presents a fond, but unvarnished … Read more
We all make New Year’s resolutions. By now, with winter’s gray days weighing heavily upon us, many have already been broken. But gardening resolutions are different. Those of us in cold winter climates haven’t had the chance to break any resolutions yet, because those resolutions depend on our ability to break the frozen ground. We … Read more
