There’s more than one way to do everything. In gardening. In life. In planting an apple tree, or peeling apples over the sink. Certainly there are rules that guide us (don’t use a dull knife), and experts that sway us (use a 3 ¼ inch Victorinox, says the team at Cook’s Illustrated ). But the [...]
It’s so dry right now in my little part of Rain Shadow, Virginia that even the blades of Japanese stilt grass are curling. When, last night, my husband decided, mid-sip, that we needed to stay off the aging deck or risk falling through it, all I could think was, “Oh good. That means I can [...]
Pam Harper died last week in her home in Seaford, Virginia at the age of 93 after a short illness; and the horticultural community who knew her and loved her shared a collective sigh -- as well as sharing hundreds of emails and texts alerting colleagues and friends worldwide. ‘Another giant says goodbye.’ wrote Tony [...]
I never thought I could find joy in, much less love, a dead tree standing on my property, smack in the middle of otherwise pastoral views. But I not only love a dead tree, I’m distressed by the fact that it’s only mostly dead, which is to say, somewhat alive, and has begun a process [...]
When we fall hard for a plant, we focus all of our desire on it. We vow to give it all it ever needs, even if we know it’s unsuited to our soil, our exposure, or our climate in general. We act unreasonably, but reason isn’t a part of the falling in love process. We [...]
Yes, I know. We could have done with this post about two months ago. But two months ago I was planting bulbs and didn’t have time to write it. Still, there’s a good chance there are more than a few of you with boxes of bulbs that haven’t gone in yet, and very little time [...]
December is upon us, the spirit is in the air, and you have an itch to try the whole wreath-making thing again. Except...you've never really nailed the art of wreath making. 'Spindly' and 'amateurish' are words that figure prominently in the memories you haven't already blocked, followed by 'lop-sided,' and 'award for participation.' Perhaps you'd [...]
If you grow the hardy orange (once Poncirus trifoliata, now Citrus trifoliata), and you cook, you’ve probably wondered whether or not you can use those pretty little orange fruits to make marmalade. The answer is yes, but you'll probably want to skip the peel. You can also skip to the bottom of this post to [...]
I wrote this article originally for The National Garden Bureau, of which I'm a proud member. However, the info is so important, I asked to reprint it here for the benefit of my readers too . I hope you enjoy it and find a few tips for making the transition from garden plant to houseplant, [...]
Last weekend I started the process of becoming professionally serious about a small area west of my fenced kitchen garden. It's functioned as a mini-wildflower meadow (and then general eyesore) for the last four or so years. With the advice and help of the talented horticulturist, designer and author Gregg Tepper, I’m diving into the [...]
Inevitably, the time will arrive when many gardeners will consider starting their own seeds indoors. Perhaps it is the threat of being faced, once again, with only two tomato varieties at the big box retailers, and the shock at paying premium prices for the much greater selection available at a nursery. Perhaps it is the [...]
Have you had it with the constant, unrelenting weather reports that sound more like John Grisham novels than weather reports? Me too. This week, I shared my thoughts on GardenRant (where one should share Rants after all), but share them here too on a Friday afternoon. Weather forecasting is good. Weather fear porn is not. [...]
Two weeks in, welcome to 2022!! A very Happy New Year to you all. Of all the of the canned New Year's wisdom that comes out between December 26th and the first week of January, my favorite one casts the upcoming year as an autobiography with 365 pages to fill - and encourages us all [...]
From Margaret Roach to Niki Jabbour, I’ve been asked to do many podcasts and radio shows over the last few months due to the publication of Tropical Plants and How To Love them – opportunities for which I’m extremely grateful. I’ve enjoyed each one of them tremendously. My kids would say that this is because [...]
I have received more than a few emails from readers wondering why I haven’t been more active on this blog over the last three months. And for some reason – guilt perhaps – the latest, thoughtful, “Is everything okay?” once answered, did succeed in provoking a painful but involuntary spasm in somewhat atrophied blogging muscles. [...]
Three warrior species are battling for dominance on the hillside outside my kitchen window. It is a cliched phrase in the garden writer’s book of spells, but it is nonetheless apt. Tiny, passive – but aggressive – moves are made every minute under the soil while I wash dishes or sip my coffee or water [...]
Over the last two winters, I’ve been engaged in a curious pursuit which has baffled some visitors but thrilled others – precisely the way I love to garden. I’m building habitat nests – and it’s one of the most satisfying and artistically fulfilling projects I’ve worked on in some time. The newest nest (still [...]
“What’s up with your book?” I’ve fielded this question from many readers lately. If you pre-ordered Tropical Plants and How To Love Them because you either read this post, or this article, or listened to this interview, or found out the book was ranked as Amazon’s number one new release in cool-climate gardening for many [...]
It’s the first day of spring and the bees are dead. After a long yesterday assessing the winter garden hangover – the deer-nibbled evergreens, the chicken-uprooted polygonatum, the muddy mess that will someday house new garden beds, but currently looks like the Somme in 1916 – this news hit me the hardest. Give me [...]
There are few things more magical than a snowfall, and few terms more overused to describe it. Nonetheless, the cliché communicates the outright miracle of slowing a world that refuses to slow itself. As the flakes fall, and the cardinals and Jenny wrens bob back and forth from feeder to trees, I am entranced. 24 [...]
