Not long ago I saw an absolutely arresting flower arrangement. It was composed of white roses, with a few blue delphiniums added for contrast. “White roses,” I thought, “Why doesn’t my garden have more white roses?” I am not sure what the answer is to that question. I do have three white-flowered bushes, but overall, … Read more
Rosa laevigata, has acquired a host of nicknames over its long history, but is most often called “the Cherokee rose”. It is native to China, but has been in North America so long and acclimated so well that many people think of it as an indiginous wildflower. Its longevity and popularity is also due to … Read more
My garden is a riot of activity at the moment, with honeybees, bumblebees, skippers and pollinators of all kinds swarming over the exuberant asters and rampant perilla mint. All that frantic action almost obscures what is missing—the big butterflies, like monarchs and swallowtails, which floated through the garden every day in the summer. They are … Read more
Some people are party animals. They may arrive early or late, but they always stay to close the place down. I have some roses like that. Now that the fall garden party is almost over, they are still awake and alive, dancing in the cold wind, putting on an exuberant show of new growth and … Read more
Being in my garden is my greatest joy. But life events this year have sliced into garden time, shredding it into small, irregular increments. The situation will improve eventually, but as the growing season has progressed, I have learned that even absence from my garden has its compensations. The lesson came from my neighbor, a … Read more
