Book Review: The Quest for the Rose

BOOK REVIEW: THE QUEST FOR THE ROSE             One of my favorite horticultural subjects is roses and I have lots of books on them.  In Search of Lost Roses, Thomas Christopher’s 2002 book on “rose rustling” and the discovery of old rose varieties in out-of-the-way places, is one of the best.  Another is A Rose … Read more

Diamond Jubilee

My grandparents’ house was like a small English island in the middle of a vast  American sea.  They went back and forth to regularly to visit English relatives and the relatives, in turn, sent gifts of impenetrable black fruitcakes every Christmas.  A biscuit tin bearing the likenesses of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth sat … Read more

Five Days

With only five days to go before the Garden Tour, it is hard to keep panic at bay.  Weeds spring up in spots that were pristine only five minutes earlier.  Big, fluffy-heady peonies suddenly need staking after weeks of minimal growth.  The daffodil foliage must be cut back now so it doesn’t block paths or … Read more